When Everything Changes
by angiembabe
Summary: In this AU story, Yugi, Atem and their friends, Honda, Jonouchi and Ryo Bakura form a rock group. With Seto Kaiba as their manager, they are now the hottest band in Japan. But a terrible car accident threatens to shatter their world. Marik Ishtar and Mai Kujaku also put in appearances.
1. Chapter 1

I wrote this story over two years ago but never posted it. At the time, there were a lot of stories about the Yugi and Atem being in pop or rock bands, and this was my own effort. As well as being inspired by all the other band fics, it was also inspired by a tragedy involving a British group who's van skidded off the road while on tour in Scandinavia. Sadly, they all died. But, since I'm hopeless as writing such sad tragedies, the ending will hopefully be better for our much loved Yugioh characters.

Warning: Car crash injuries. Some bad language and suggestive adult themes. They are mostly in character, but I have taken the liberty of making Atem seem a little more extrovert than he often seemed in canon YGO. I also kind of figure, that with his edgy good looks and pop star status, he would have girls throwing themselves at him.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh or any of the characters.

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Chapter 1.

Upside Down.

Millennium World were the hottest young band in Japan right now.

Formed in high school, by twin brothers, Atem and Yugi, the band consisted of Atem on lead guitar and vocals, Yugi on rhythm guitar and vocals, Katsuya 'Joey' Jonouchi on bass, Hiroto Honda on drums and Ryo Bakura on keyboards.

Barely out of their teens, none of them were really prepared so much fame and fortune at such a young age. Having so much money was a novelty and it was easy to get carried away by all the glitz and glamour of the showbiz world.

Much of their meteoric rise could be attributed to their young, astute manager, Seto Kaiba. The entrepreneurial stepson of a multi-millionaire businessman, he had masterminded their image, and, through the publicity he was able to get them due to his status, ensured that they were every teenage girl (and some boys) wet dream.

They were in the middle of a sell-out tour and had both the current best selling single and the number one album in Japan. They were also in the process of signing a lucrative deal for a TV show.

Of course, with all of this amazing fame and fortune came fast cars, wild parties and easy women. Tonight was a night for celebration and a big party was being held in the function suite of the Kaiba Stadium.

It was nearing ten thirty in the evening and the party was in full swing.

Atem was relaxing in an alcove seat with two adoring females. They were cuddled up, one either side of him, and his only dilemma was which one to take home tonight –Mai or Vivian.

Maybe both, he decided with a smirk.

Jonouchi appeared, flopping down into the seat beside Mai. "Hey! I thought you were with me?" He placed his hand on her thigh with a salacious grin.

She slapped his hand away to add to the drama. "Oh! So you suddenly decide you want me, huh? I thought you were too busy playing Pachinko to notice I even existed!" To make him jealous, Mai seductively ran her hand over Atem's chest before pushing herself away from him, earning a slightly disgruntled groan from the spiky haired man.

"Yeah, well I'm here now," Jonouchi made a grab for her hand.

"Bullshit! You came over to talk to Atem." She got up and walked off.

"Women! What da fuck I do wrong?!" Jonouchi held out his hands in exasperation and then flopped down in the place Mai had just vacated. The seat was still warm where her butt had been and it made him tingle.

"Honey! You have no idea how to treat women," Vivian chipped in.

"And this moron does? Do you know how many women this dude has fu..." Jonouchi's sentence was cut short when Atem slapped his hand over his blonde friend's mouth.

"Watch your language in front of the lady," Atem smirked, jokingly. If they wanted to believe he was a stud then let them. He was not about to correct his friend and tell him that he was actually quite selective when it came to girlfriends.

"Meh... Well at least I'm faithful to Mai," Jonouchi mumbled, pushing Atem's hand away from his face. "Anyway, the reason I came over ta talk to ya, is this. Have ya seen that dude with the long hair? The one with the funny eye talking to Kaiba." He pointed over to where Seto Kaiba was standing, in deep discussion with an equally tall man in a burgundy suit, frilly shirt and with long silver blonde hair. "He looks a bit dodgy. I wouldn't wanna bend over in front of him." Jonouchi snickered at his own joke.

Atem rolled his eyes. "You mean Pegasus? I think he's okay – married to some glamour model, apparently. He's also an American media tycoon. Kaiba's looking at breaking us into the American market. Didn't you know that?"

"What?! No one ever tells me anything!" He complained irritably.

Atem started laughing. "That's because you never listen Jonouchi. Anyway, I'm going to find Yugi." He stood up and walked away, leaving Jonouchi with Vivian, and strolled over to where Anzu was trying to teach Yugi some new dance steps, without much success.

"Yugi..." Anzu groaned. "You're supposed to concentrate!"

"I am concentrating..." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him. "On you." He started nibbling her ear and then her neck, making her giggle.

"Stop it! Everyone can see us!"

"How about we go somewhere quieter then?" He murmured seductively. He was never this confident unless he had been drinking. And Anzu had counted that he had consumed four glasses of champagne in a very short time. He could never hold his booze.

"Yugi! Is that all you can think about? There's plenty of time for that later. First you have to learn these dance moves."

"Okay, if you insist..." he beamed cheekily, making Anzu laugh. He had such an innocent face and was such a lovely sweet guy – she loved him so much. Forgetting all about the dance, she could not resist falling into his arms and kissing him.

"What about the dance?" He mumbled into the kiss.

"What dance?!" She replied, naughtily.

"Hey! Love birds." Atem threw his arms around them both. "I'm bored. How about we go for a spin in my new car?"

"Where do you want to go?" Yugi asked.

"Anywhere, I don't mind. As long as I get out of here. I need to _drive..._."

"You haven't been drinking, have you?" Anzu quizzed.

"Nope! not a drop. Come on? The roads will be quiet at this time of night and I've got a full tank of fuel," he smirked

"Well, I suppose..." Yugi glanced at Anzu for approval. "If Anzu is okay with it."

"Yeah, why not," Anzu nodded. "It will be fun." She smiled at Atem. "Are you bringing your new girlfriend?"

Atem looked mortified. "Vivian! She's not my girlfriend. I've decided that I'm not even interested in her. She's whiny and keeps calling me Temmy." He pulled a vomit face.

The trio were just leaving, when Jonouchi came running over. "Hey! guys! Save me?!" In hot pursuit were Vivian and Mai. Neither woman looked very pleased.

"Jonouchi! You lousy, cheating..."

"Smell ya later ladies!" Jonouchi was out the door before Mai could finish her sentence.

"Sorry ladies," Atem stood in their way and smiled at them apologetically. "We've gotta go. I will tell Jonouchi to ring you in the morning Mai."

"But, Temmy," Vivian cooed, in a voice that she considered seductive, but in reality sounded too needy. "I thought we were going to spend the night together!"

"Another time," he winked at her and bolted after Jonouchi.

Yugi was having trouble keeping a straight face as he and Anzu followed them. "Wait up Temmy?" He called after his brother, in a mock Vivian voice that made Atem laugh and roll his eyes.

"Where are we heading?" Jonouchi asked, getting into the front passenger seat, while Yugi and Anzu got in the back.

"I don't know. Atem is desperate to drive his new car," said Yugi.

"And he asked us to go with him," Anzu added.

"Cool, count me in then." Jonouchi grinned, fastening his seat-belt.

Atem pulled out of the car park, tyres screeching.

"Atem!" Anzu squealed, "Slow down or you will get stopped by the police!"

He grinned and ignored her, pushing on faster.

"Why did Mai just dump you Jonouchi?" Yugi wanted to know.

"Accused me of groping Vivian. But I never touched her!"

"Mai's got a nerve after throwing herself at Atem earlier," Anzu huffed.

"Well..." Jonouchi grinned sheepishly, "It might have looked bad when Vivian pressed herself against me. But I didn't encourage her, honest!"

"I believe you Jonouchi," Yugi said. "Vivian throws herself at all the guys! She knows Anzu's my girlfriend, but she even tried it on with me!" Realising what he had just disclosed, he grimaced.

Vivian attempting to seduce Yugi was news to Anzu and she turned to her boyfriend in alarm. "I hope you told her to back off!" The way she was glaring at him made Yugi shrink into his seat.

"Of course I did!" He squeaked, too ashamed to admit that Vivian had sneaked into his hotel room while he was having a lie down to recover from a late night of working in the studio. She had woken him up when she straddled him and started grinding herself against his crotch, while leaning down and kissing him. In his sleepy state he had thought she was Anzu at first and had started to become aroused, until Atem walked into the room and rescued him. "Nothing happened between us," he gulped, "honest."

Sensing his brother's discomfort and Anzu's irritation, Atem chipped in. "Can we not talk about Vivian." He turned up the music.

Turning off the motorway, they were now on the narrower roads that wound their way through the foothills. The roads were kept in pristine condition for the regular car racing time trials that took part in this area.

As Atem rounded a bend, a deer suddenly jumped out of the trees and ran right in front of them.

He instinctively braked and tried to swerve.

"Look out!" Jonouchi yelled.

Unfortunately, there was no room to swerve around the deer and there was a sickening thud as it bounced off the bonnet.

Anzu screamed.

The three boys also cried out desperately as the car slewed out of control and shot off the road, flipping over onto its roof and then rolling back onto its side, before coming to rest with the front end and passenger side partially submerged in a ditch full of water.

::::::::::::

Atem opened his eyes to the strangled sobs of what he thought sounded like his brother. He tried to open his mouth to call out to him but realised that the strangled sobs were his own.

Although he could see very little in the darkness, he could feel the deployed airbags pushing against him.

The rank smell of rotting foliage and mucky water in the drainage ditch, was also tinged with the aroma of twisted plastic, metal and fuel. It assaulted his senses and when he licked his lips and swallowed, he tasted blood.

Blood?!

It was in his mouth. He realised he had bitten his tongue and made it bleed.

He tried to move, but was pinned in by his legs and moving only caused him pain. The pain made him tense up, which caused more pain. He tried to lift his hands to touch his face but was met with searing pain in his left hand and wrist. The pain made his vision swim and he started drifting in and out of consciousness. His surroundings were starting to seem distant and surreal.

Memories from his childhood fought to block out what was happening in this dreadful moment.

"_Atem! Atem! Wake up? You will be late for our guitar lesson!" The ten year old was woken up by Yugi jumping up and down on his bed._

"_**What's your name son? Can you hear me?" **_The muffled voice of someone else – someone he did not know, cut through his memories and brought him back to reality. Somehow, he managed to tell the man his name.

"_**Try not to move Atem. We're going to get you out, okay?"**_

"What's happening?" Atem murmured, as a mask was placed over his mouth and nose. He started crying and panicking. "Get off me!" He tried to push away the person he imagined was his brother. But the person he was actually fighting was the paramedic helping him.

"_**You have been in a car accident Atem. We're going to give you something to help with the pain. Where does it hurt?"**_

_His flashback resumed when he saw their father coming into the bedroom, still buttoning up his work shirt. "What's going on? Stop fighting you two!" He scolded angrily. _

Atem gazed up at the paramedic, and in his confused state thought the man was his father. "Dad? Dad...I think I crashed my car..." He was becoming increasingly distressed.

"_**Atem," **_the paramedic said sternly but softly. _**"**__**Try to relax. My name is Yusei, I'm a trauma doctor. Try not to move your head. We're going to give you something to help with the pain while we move you out of here." **_Ceasing his struggles, Atem felt himself becoming light headed. He was vaguely aware of someone holding his head still, and of a cannula being placed in the back of his hand. He was given 2mg of Ketamin, and moments later he was away in cloud cuckoo land, barely aware of the fireman cutting him free of the twisted metal.

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**That's about it for the first chapter. I hope it wasn't too confusing when Atem went back and forth from memories to his present situation.**

**Please review.**


	2. Small Beginnings

Sorry for leaving everyone trapped in the car wreckage. But, for now we go back in time.

This chapter heavily focuses on my favourite pairing of Anzu and Yugi, but as the story unfolds, there will be other pairings and hints at others too, such as: Ryou x Marik and finishing with Polar. There will be a hint of Blueshipping and may even be a hint of Vaseshipping, depending on whether I add it in when I edit. I wrote this a long time ago so will see how it goes when I re-visit and tidy up for publishing.

Warning: If you don't like spiders then you should read the first part with caution. There is also some laddish behaviour and the vicious Miss Chono puts in an appearance.

Chapter 2.

Small Beginnings.

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Their road to stardom started ten years ago.

The two boys were helping their grandfather clear out the loft, when the old man found an old electric guitar and amplifier tucked away in the corner.

"Oh! I had forgotten about this." Sugoroku exclaimed nostalgically, picking up the dusty guitar case.

Nine year old Atem was behind him in the opposite corner of the loft, teasing his more timid twin with a large spider that he had plucked from its web. "What is it Grandpa? He twisted his body round to try and see what his grandfather was talking about.

The moment of distraction gave Yugi a chance to push his brother backwards, sending him toppling into the network of cobwebs that were suspended from a roof beam. Atem screeched as he dropped the spider he was holding. It landed on his neck, while the mess of grimy old webs caught in his hair and face. "Heeelp! Get it off me! Get it off!" He screamed.

At the sight of his tormentor shrieking in terror, Yugi fell about laughing.

"Will you two stop squabbling?!" Their grandfather scolded. "Come and look at what I found. It's your father's old guitar." He chuckled at the memory. "Your father pestered me to buy it for him, but struggled to get the hang of it and soon gave up trying. I thought your grandmother got rid of it ages ago!"

"Can I see?" Atem quickly forgot about the spider. Brushing the dirty old webs away, he and Yugi clambered over the old boxes to see the guitar their grandfather had found.

"Can we keep it Grandpa?" Yugi asked excitedly.

"Yes, of course. We will need to check it still works though. It must have been up here for thirty years or more!"

That was just the start of their journey. Both boys appeared to have inherited their mother's musical abilities and took to it immediately, showing great promise; Atem as a lead guitarist while Yugi was good at playing the chords. Very soon, they had new instruments of their own and were taking lessons after school. And by the time they were in their mid teens they were pretty good musicians.

Also attending after-school music club, was a boy called Ryo Bakura. His preferred instrument was the piano. He had been having lessons since the age of four and could read music fluently. Yugi and Atem would often often ask him for help when they got a bit confused with reading the notes. The trio soon became friends and it was not long before they started talking about forming a band and writing their own songs.

Although they dreamed of stardom, they never actually got around to actively starting the band until they became friends with Jonouchi and Honda halfway through year ten.

And then the idea of becoming a rock band really took off.

::::::::::::

It was a dull wet morning, so rather than walk as usual, Yugi and Atem caught the bus to school. They got off the bus opposite the school gates and were met by their bedraggled friend Jonouchi, who had stupidly cycled without a waterproof coat on.

"Hey, guys!" He did not seem bothered about being soaked and was grinning mischievously. "What's up Yugi? Why's ya face all red?" He knew exactly why his friend was blushing and was in the mood for teasing his little buddy today.

Atem immediately turned to see that Anzu Mazaki was standing chatting to Miho Nosaka.

As if sensing them watching her, she glanced over and waved at them.

All his friends knew that Yugi had a massive crush on Anzu, but was too shy to do anything about it. Unfortunately, it made him an easy target for some teasing.

"If you don't ask her out, I will," Atem threatened. He already knew that Anzu liked him, so it would be easy to date her. But the only thing stopping him was his loyalty to Yugi.

"No! Atem! Please don't," Yugi pleaded.

"Why not?! She's hot! And, you know how all the girls are unable resist me!" He winked. "I bet you I could get into her knickers by the end of the week," he boasted, hoping to shake his shy brother into action.

Jonouchi added his own smut into the conversation. "Yeah, come on Yugi? Ask her out man! I don't wanna see dis dude strutting round in Anzu's crutch-less panties, do you?!" He mockingly sang the line 'dude looks like a lady, from the Aerosmith song with the same line as its title.

Yugi blushed. "She doesn't wear crutch-less panties!" Having peeked once, he knew that much.

"Who's wearing crutch-less panties?" Honda grinned as he approached them, his curiosity piqued by the mention of ladies underwear.

"Atem wants to wear Anzu's knickers," Jonouchi snickered, grabbing Atem in a headlock and ruffling his hair.

"I didn't say I wanted to wear her knickers! Idiot." A slight scuffle broke out as Atem broke free from the headlock and shoved his much taller friend away.

"That's enough!" Yugi screamed in disgust. "Don't talk about Anzu like that!" The pair immediately stopped their banter.

"Hey! Sorry Yug! Didn't mean to upset ya pal!" Jonouchi placed his arm around his smaller friend's shoulders. Irritated, Yugi shouldered him away.

Atem was suddenly feeling guilty for teasing his twin. "We're only trying to help you Yugi. She's pretty and we're worried that someone else might get there before you do."

"I know. But just... please, stop teasing me, okay?"

"Okay," Atem smiled and went to put his arm around his slightly smaller twin. "Promise me you will ask her out, okay little brother?"

"Yeah... And stop calling me little brother!" Yugi elbowed him. "I'm older than you by fifteen minutes."

"But you _are _smaller than me," he winked.

"Only because you were the greedy one and took all the nutrients when we were growing in the womb." He playfully shoved his larger twin into Jonouchi and ran across the road towards the school gates, without even looking to see if there were any cars coming. His thoughts were on Anzu.

"Idiot will get himself run over!" Atem tutted, as he and Jonouchi crossed over and entered the school gates.

::::::::::::

Arriving at the lockers, Yugi bent down to untie his shoe laces so that he could change into his indoor shoes. "Hey Yugi! What were you and your friends squabbling about this morning?" If only she knew! His heart skipped a beat and he gulped.

Looking up at her from his crouching position, the first thing he noticed was her legs. From the position he was in, he could almost see right up her skirt. "Oh! Hey A.. Anzu! M.. m ..morning." His face started to heat up as he found himself imagining her wearing crutch-less panties. "We.." he coughed. "Jonouchi was boasting about his fighting skills."

"Nothing new there then," she tutted, with a little laugh that sent Yugi's pulse soaring.

He attempted to stand up while still trying to remove his shoes and toppled over onto his backside in a rather undignified heap, making everyone around him laugh at his stupidity.

"Mutou, you loser!" Someone nearby taunted, spitefully.

Yugi heard the culprit cry out as Jonouchi chicken legged him. "Leave him alone moron!" Frightened of Jonouchi's reputation, the heckler scurried away.

Anzu bent down to Yugi, who was still on the floor. "Yugi! You shouldn't give them reasons to laugh at you. Here, let me help you?" She gathered up his shoes and then offered to help him up, further adding to his humiliation; he did not need mothering!

"I can stand on my own," he muttered indignantly, scrambling to his feet and snatching his shoes.

"Way to look cool in front of your crush, Yugi!" A tall brunette by the name of Seto Kaiba had arrived and could not resist the chance to embarrass Yugi further.

Yugi's face went scarlet. "She's not! We're, we're..." Yugi tried to say but couldn't get his words out.

Anzu turned to face Seto. "We're friends Kaiba! And stop trying to humiliate Yugi. It's unkind.." she scolded, protective of her friend.

"Yeah, right!" Seto snorted. "Just grow a spine Yugi and ask her out."

"Leave my brother alone Kaiba!" Atem stood as tall as he could, in an attempt to intimidate the much taller boy.

"Hmph!" Kaiba looked down his nose at Atem and rolled his eyes dismissively. Pivoting on his heel, he strolled off to class, leaving an angry Atem, a very humiliated Yugi and an embarrassed Anzu.

Atem relaxed his posture and turned to his brother. "You shouldn't let people torment you Yugi."

"No one is tormenting me," Yugi scowled. He'd had enough of everyone trying to make him look uncool in front of Anzu. If he was going to get them to stop, then he really needed to get his act together and actually ask her out.

He raised his eyebrows at his brother in silent communication. "See you in class, okay? I wanna ask Anzu something."

Atem winked knowingly at Yugi and nudged Jonouchi, who seemed intent on staying with Yugi.

"But..." Jonouchi started to protest, but Honda grabbed his collar and bundled him along the corridor.

"Do we have to spell it out for you dude? Yugi is about to ask Anzu out at long last."

The penny dropped and Jonouchi whooped with joy and started skipping along the corridor towards the classroom. Honda and Atem just looked at one another and shook their heads in bemusement at their excitable friend's antics.

Everyone was starting to rush to their classrooms now and Anzu had still not changed into her indoor shoes. "What was it you wanted to ask me Yugi?" She enquired, while changing her own shoes.

Blushing, Yugi shrugged. "Oh! It's nothing. Just, about what Kaiba just said... it's not.. I...I.." he started.

"It's okay Yugi, I understand.." She gently touched his arm. "Come on, we will be late for class." She gently pulled him towards the classroom. But Yugi stopped walking. He was getting annoyed with himself for being such a coward and not saying what he really wanted to say. The guys would be merciless if he did not do it this time.

"Erm... Anzu?" The pleading tone of his voice made her stop and turn to face him with a kind, expectant look.

"Yes, Yugi?" She waited for his response, her own heart hammering as she silently willed him to say what she hoped he wanted to say.

After what seemed like a long pause, he finally blurted it out. "Would you like to come out on a date with me? I mean, you don't have to if you don't want..."

"Yes. Of course. I would like that."

He did not register her reply at first and waffled on. "I mean, if you would just prefer to stay as just friends, I'm okay with that. We're not really meant to be dating in school anyway so I..."

"I said yes Yugi," she interrupted. "I would love to go on a date with you."

He hesitated for a second and then gasped. "You would?!" He was utterly surprised that such a cool chick like Anzu would want to date someone like him. "Really?!"

"Yes, really. Now come on or we will get into trouble for being late to class." She grabbed his sleeve and pulled him along with her.

The rest of the morning was like a daydream for Yugi. He was up on cloud nine and could not wait for lunchtime so that he could talk to her again, and hopefully arrange where they would go for their date.

He was suddenly struck with panic. Their date! Where on earth would he take her?

He need not have worried because she had it all figured out. "Why don't we just head to the mall after school toady?" She suggested.

He frowned. "We have band practice today. The school allows us to use the music room after lessons have ended. It has awesome acoustics." He wondered if he should invite her to watch them practice, but she beat him to it.

"I could come and watch! I dance, so maybe I could work out a new routine while you play! If you don't mind?"

"Of course I don't mind! It would be great! But I'm not sure we play much dance music though! We're more into rock music."

"That doesn't matter. If I am to be a professional dancer one day, I need to be able to feel the rhythm in any style of music."

"Cool! After school then?" He smiled happily as she nodded.

They tried to ignore the looks their friends were giving them when they entered the classroom and sat down at their desks.

As he went to sit down, Yugi looked over at his brother and gave a very brief nod and a thumbs up. Atem smiled and gave a brief nod in return.

Jonouchi had not seen Yugi gesture with Atem, and while the teacher's back was turned he took the opportunity to write a note.

Yugi was sitting at his desk, trying to focus on the lesson, when a ball of paper landed on his desk. He heard Jonouchi make a "Pssst," sound. He glanced round at his friend, who was grinning and nodding his head. Yugi quickly gathered the paper ball in his hand before the teacher saw it.

Unfortunately, Miss Chono had eyes in the back of her head. She spun round. "Mister Mutou! What is that in your hand?"

Nervous about being picked on by her, Yugi went red in the face. He decided it was best to pretend he had no idea what she was talking about. "My pencil Miss." He held up the said item and the whole class snickered at his reply. He wondered what was so funny – he wasn't trying to be funny.

Meanwhile, he tried to use slight of hand to tuck the paper ball up his sleeve, but she seemed to have rumbled him and came storming over.

Snatching the paper ball, she unravelled it. She sneered nastily at Jonouchi's scrawl. "Did. You. Ask. Her?" She read out loud, accentuating each word while glaring down at the small teen, who seemed to have shrunk even smaller in his chair. "Does this have anything to do with underage dating?"

"I don't know Miss Chono. Someone threw it at me. I have no idea why," he lied, trying appear calm.

Miss Chono hummed to herself. She knew a lie when she heard one. And she also recognised this silly writing. "Jonouchi!" She snapped, making the blonde boy jump.

Sitting to attention, Jonouchi quickly composed himself. "Yes Miss?!"

"This is your illiterate scribble." She glared at him accusingly.

"I don't know what you're talking about Miss? That's definitely not mine. I think someone is trying to get me and Yugi into trouble." The lie rolled off his tongue with ease.

Miss Chono glared around the classroom, eyeballing each of the students. "I will expel you all unless someone confesses."

Everyone stayed quiet, until Nizumi suddenly piped up. "I saw Jonouchi throw it at Yugi Miss Chono. I heard them talking earlier about Yugi asking Anzu out."

Jonouchi turned and glared at Nizumi, mouthing at him that he would get him after school.

Miss Chono gushed with glee at the thought of expelling another student for underage dating. Although the school had an advisory policy of no dating among students, Miss Chono took it to the extreme and enforced the rule with glee. "Mutou and Mazaki. Explain yourselves?"

Gulping, Yugi pushed himself to stand. "Please don't involve Anzu in this Miss Chono. It's not her fault. We both understand the importance of putting our educations first and would never break the no dating rule. The truth is, Anzu and I have been friends since grade school and often hang out, but strictly as friends. Nizumi overheard us talking about meeting up after school to study for our exams and jumped to conclusions. He's trying to cause trouble for us."

Miss Chono's cheek twitched in annoyance. Nizumi was well known for telling tales on other students. Whether it was the truth or a lie, it was still one student's word against another's. There was no way the principal would agree to her expelling Yugi Mutou over gossip from a known shit stirrer. Also, the idea of a squirt like Yugi Mutou having the courage to date anyone was preposterous.

There was nothing she could do but give the whole class a detention after school out of spite.

When detention finally ended, the music teacher had already locked up the room and gone home, so band practice was off.

And so was Yugi and Anzu's date, for now, because Anzu's parents were sat in their car, waiting outside the school for her. Anzu had totally forgotten they had arranged to visit her gran this evening.

Yugi was a bit disappointed that she would not be walking home with them, but did not complain.

Hopping onto his bicycle, Jonouchi said he had business to attend and went off in the other direction.

No one was at all surprised when Nizumi came into school sporting a black eye the next day, compliments of Jonouchi.

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**Thank you for reading.**

**Please review.**


	3. Opportunity Knocks

No specific warnings for this chapter. So please enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 3

Opportunity Knocks.

The following morning, Yugi arrived at school eager to see Anzu. But when he bounced into the classroom to greet her, she was sitting chatting with Miho and her back was facing him.

Full of smiles, he went over to say 'good morning' to the two girls. Miho giggled like she knew something he didn't, and it made him feel all awkward.

Meanwhile, Anzu was polite in her response, but seemed fairly cool towards him. Yugi immediately started to worry she might have changed her mind about dating him and spent all morning stewing over it. By the time lunch break was approaching, he was a nervous wreck.

What was he going to say to her?

What would she say to him?

When the bell went and their eyes met across their desks, she sort of half smiled politely, but that was about it. Slightly unnerved by her lack of interest in him, he said the first thing that popped into his head. "Are you coming to eat your lunch on the roof with us Anzu?" He tried to sound as casual about it as he could.

She frowned slightly and made her excuses. "Sorry Yugi," she groaned, "I promised Miho I would have lunch with her and I don't want to let her down." She could not exactly tell him Miho had a problem that she wanted to confide in with Anzu.

"Maybe later then," he muttered, getting up from his seat. His friends were waiting by the door, so he bowed tersely to her before snatching up his Bento box and hurrying after them. Hmph! So she didn't want to let Miho down, but had no problems letting him down. He was feeling very deflated.

"Yes. See you later Yugi." She called out, raising her hand to wave but lowering it again. What was with him this morning? He bowed to her like he wanted to headbutt her and could not wait to get away, which was kind of worrying.

As Yugi walked up the stairs leading to the roof, he felt certain that Anzu and Miho were giggling about him behind his back, and he felt his heart sink.

Atem turned to him. "Are you okay Yugi? You seem a bit down."

Yugi shrugged despondently. "I think she's changed her mind. She doesn't like me that way," he complained.

"What makes you think that?" When Yugi shrugged and didn't give a definitive answer, Atem continued. "Give her time Yugi. She probably doesn't want it to appear obvious while were at school," he reasoned.

"Maybe," Yugi slouched over to the low wall by the fence and sat down to eat in miserable silence. His friends were all chatting but he was not really listening.

"What's wrong dude?!" Jonouchi slapped Yugi on the back, almost making him choke on the rice ball he had just popped into his mouth. "I just asked you something and you ignored me!"

Yugi scowled at him. "You know what's wrong. Anzu's changed her mind about dating me."

"She's just playing hard to get Yug! Girls do that all the time. Best thing ta do is flirt with another girl and make her jealous. She'll soon come running back to ya." Jonouchi was not good at diplomacy at the best of times and his reasoning made Yugi feel even more despondent.

"And you would know that because you're an expert on scaring girls away," Honda teased.

"What would you know, smart guy? Miho Nosaka turned ya down," Jonouchi retorted in response.

The two quickly started winding each up and were getting out of hand.

"Will you two shut up?!" Atem yelled at them, conscious of his brother's woe.

"I'm going back down to the classroom," Yugi sighed, getting up to leave. He had lost his appetite now and his friends were not helping.

"I'll come with you," said Ryo, following after him. "You shouldn't let it get to you, Yugi. Would you like me to speak with her for you?"

Yugi shook his head. "Nah.. Thanks though. I should at least show her I've got some backbone. I'll talk to her myself after school."

His friend patted his back sympathetically. "Okay. Let me know how it goes. If you need a friend to talk to, I'm here, okay?"

"Yeah," Thanks Bakura." Yugi gave him a brave smile. "But I'll be fine."

The afternoon dragged. The lesson was boring and Yugi found himself trying to resist looking over at Anzu.

When school ended, it was not Yugi who approached Anzu, but the other way round. "Have you got a minute Yugi?" She was keen to get him away from his brother and friends, so that she could find out why he was being so moody today. If someone was bullying him, they would have her to answer to!

He gulped, expecting the worst and glanced at Atem for some reassurance.

"I'll wait for you outside Yugi," said Atem, patting him on the shoulder as he followed the other students out, leaving Yugi on his own to face the prospect of being dumped before the first date had even happened.

Pursing her lips, Anzu waited for Yugi with a furrowed brow, watching him bundle his books into his backpack without taking much care. "Is someone bothering you Yugi?" She wondered.

He dropped one of his books on the floor. He felt like saying, yes, you are, but stayed silent.

She made a move to pick the book up for him but he made an uncharacteristic noise of annoyance and almost pushed her out of the way as he snatched it up himself.

With his books finally stuffed into his backpack, Yugi stood up straight and looked everywhere but at her. "You've changed your mind. It's okay. I understand."

"What do you mean Yugi?" Anzu sounded worried and surprised. "I actually wanted to ask if you fancied coming with me for coffee, or something, at the mall."

"Really?!" Yugi looked up at her, wide eyes and surprised. "But I thought..."

"What did you think I was going to say?" She looked a bit worried.

He shrugged. "You've been avoiding me all day, so I thought you... I dunno, maybe changed your mind about dating me."

"Oh," she said, biting her lip. "Sorry if it appeared that way. After what happened with Miss Chono yesterday, I just didn't want anyone to get ideas and start rumours about us."

"So, we're cool?" He grinned awkwardly. Way to make himself look like a fool.

She smiled back at him. "We're cool. But let's keep us a secret, heh?" She winked. "We don't want the Wicked Witch of Expel to find out, do we?"

"My lips are sealed!" He nodded, chuckling. "We're friends, Just as we've always been." If there was one thing he was good at it was keeping secrets.

::::::::::::

When he got home, Yugi told his brother that he and Anzu had gone for coffee together after school. They had talked and decided that it was too risky to start dating while Miss Chono was on the war path about students having romantic relationships. They would be graduating next year anyway, so they could wait.

Atem did not believe him, but let it go for now.

A couple of days later, the band were practising after school. It was not like Yugi to be late for practice and, just as Atem was about to put down his guitar and go and find out where he was, he and Anzu walked in. They were not holding hands, but they were mighty close to one another.

Jonouchi wolf whistled,

Atem made a show of running through a riff he had been learning.

"About time," he mouthed to Yugi when he stepped up beside him.

Yugi pretended not to hear and made a show of tuning his guitar, while shouting... "Testing, one, two, three, testing," into the microphone.

Atem just chuckled at the display of denial.

For the first couple of numbers, Anzu sat quietly on the bench, watching them play. It was the first time she had actually sat and listed to them. She did not recognise the first song as it was one of their own, but still thought they were quite good.

Both brothers sang and she thought they had very similar voices. She liked them both. Atem's was slightly deeper, but Yugi put more passion into his singing and had a wider vocal range.

She felt slightly embarrassed when they did a cover of I'll Be There For You by Bon Jovi, and Yugi looked right into her eyes as he was singing. It seemed as though all his usual shyness disappeared when he performed.

Anzu met his eyes for a moment and then looked away bashfully. Her chest tingled, while a feeling of yearning fluttered in her abdomen, making her feel flustered.

As soon as they finished the song, Yugi grinned. "This next song is one I know you like Anzu."They launched into Counting Stars by One Republic. Anzu had previously told him she loved the song and hearing it always made her want to dance. She had even choreographed her own dance interpretation to it for an exam. Because of that, he had persuaded the band to learn it specifically to impress her.

True to form, she immediately leapt up and started dancing her routine.

Yugi glanced at his band mates and they all grinned, nodding their heads in approval and tapping their feet to the beat as they played.

Meanwhile, the entrepreneurial Seto Kaiba was passing the building, on the way to his waiting limousine, when he heard the sound of music coming from a slightly open window. "Hmmm," he nodded his head to himself in approval. _They have talent! I wonder who's band it is? _There was no way it could be those Mutou dweebs and their moronic friends, but he could not think of anyone else in the school with a band so he decided to go back into the building to find out. Whoever it was probably needed a manager and he was sensing a good business opportunity. In six months time they would all be graduating high school, and Seto had plans that would launch them into super-stardom, and of course, continue to grow his own empire.

When the door opened and they all saw who was entering the room, everyone startled.

The music faltered.

Honda stopped hammering out the drum beat and Ryo stopped playing his keyboard. Jonouchi thumped his bass strings in annoyance at the sight of the guy he always felt like punching, while Atem hit a duff note.

Yugi stuttered "K.. Kaiba!" Into the microphone.

"Whadaya want moneybags?" Jonouchi snarled, threateningly.

Kaiba smirked at the reaction he had attracted. "I have come to make you an offer, but if you would prefer to remain a bunch of losers, then feel free." He turned to leave.

"Kaiba! Wait?!" Yugi called out.

"What is it you wish to offer us Kaiba?" Atem added.

"I don't give compliments lightly, but you lot are quite good. I am here to offer my services as your manager."

"Yeah! And what makes you think we need you as our manager?" Jonouchi retorted with contempt.

"Hey! Shut up Jonouchi and let the man talk," Honda chipped in. He was seeing Yen signs in his mind.

"In answer to the Mutt's question. I have contacts. At eighteen, I already run a successful multi million Yen company. I think that speaks for itself."

"What makes you think you know anything about the music industry?" Atem asked.

"Oh! Please..." Kaiba laughed. "What do _you _lot know about any sort of business? You leave school in a few months, what plans do you have? None! Just as I thought."

The band members all started muttering amongst themselves. They had to agree, they did not really have a clue what they were going to do.

Yugi spoke up. "The music business is very competitive. How would you make us successful?"

"All business is ruthless and competitive Yugi. The music industry is just another challenge at which I will excel."

"Excuse me, but..." Ryo tentatively put up his hand to get Seto's attention, "what would you want from this? I.. I mean, I am sure you're not willing to do it for nothing."

"I think what my buddy Bakura is tryin to say, is... we ain't gonna let you rip us off," said Jonouchi.

"Well," Seto spoke as though he was talking to a bunch of elementary school kids. "First we would all sit down and discuss contracts and then we would come to an amicable agreement. Of course, I would want to take a percentage of all profits –that is how investing in a business works. But if you would all rather remain poor, struggling musicians, then that is up to you. What would you rather have? Fifty percent of ten million Yen or one hundred percent of nothing?" He raised an amused eyebrow.

Everyone nodded thoughtfully. "Okay... Do we all agree?" Atem looked at his friends for confirmation. "Okay, Kaiba. We will accept you as our manager, subject to agreements being drawn up. But we won't sign anything unless we're all happy."

"Fine." Anzu was the closest to where he was standing so Seto handed her his business card. "Meet me at my office tomorrow afternoon, five thirty on the dot. We will discuss it then. Don't be late." He turned and left.

::::::::::::

The next six months were full-on; busily rehearsing while also studying for their exams.

As soon as they graduated high school, they immediately set to work on releasing their first single. Several gigs had been arranged to help promote the band and Seto had advertised them as appealing to every generation of would be teenagers. He made sure their faces started appearing on electronic billboards around town, especially on billboards close to popular hangouts and busy areas.

Their single was released two weeks before the first concert and it was played constantly on the radio. Within a few days it was top of the downloads chart.

Suddenly, they were the hottest group in Japan, and over the next few months their popularity just kept on rising. It felt as though they barely had any time to themselves any more, which for a deeply private person like Ryo Bakura it was hard. "I am not sure I like being this famous," he complained, as they hurried into the dressing room to get ready for the latest show. "I get nervous around large crowds and I don't know how to tell the young women who like me that I'm not interested."

"Kura! How can you not enjoy the attention of all those lovely young babes?!" Jonouchi grinned salaciously.

"Yeah, send them all my way Bakura," Honda added.

"Stop teasing him," Anzu slapped Jonouchi round the back of the head. "And how many times to I have to tell you? Stop disrespecting women!"

"I'm not disrespecting no one!" Jonouchi protested, rubbing his head. "Tell your girlfriend to stop hitting me Yug!"

Yugi grimaced. "Don't get me involved guys." He stood up and looked down at the front of the new, skin tight, silk jeans their stylist had insisted they all wear without underwear. They did not leave much to the imagination. "Do I have to wear these? They're embarrassing."

Relieved that he would be hiding behind his keyboards, Ryo smiled appreciatively at Yugi.

Honda started laughing. His own trousers were not that revealing because he had ignored the order to go commando and was wearing underpants. He would also be able to sit down, surrounded by his drums.

"You're packing meat there Yuge!" Jonouchi snickered.

"That's it!" Yugi threw a strop. "I'm not wearing them!" He snatched his boxers from his bag and ran into the toilet to change.

"I know how he feels," Atem emerged from the changing cubicle with his hands self consciously covering himself. "This is humiliating. They are designed to show off as much as possible!"

"Give us a flash Yami?!" Jonouchi cooed, trying to sound like a teenage girl. He was yet to even put his silk trousers on.

"Screw this. I'm changing." Atem ran back into the cubicle, just as Yugi emerged in his usual black jeans.

Their stylist, Marik Ishtar came swooping in and started flapping about. "What is going on? Why are you not ready?!" You have five minutes!" When he saw Yugi in jeans and holding the crumpled up silk trousers in his hand, he gasped. "Yugi! Why are you not in costume?"

"Because these are embarrassing," he replied, waving the trousers in Marik's face. "If I wear them, I won't be able to play my guitar properly."

"Why ever not?!"

"Because I will be too self conscious!"

Atem emerged in his black jeans. "We're not wearing these stripper pants Marik." He threw the silk trousers at the stylist. "Yugi is right, they are not decent."

"But you have to! I designed them myself!"

"We are musicians, not male strippers," Atem growled menacingly.

At the tone of Atem's voice, Marik backed down. "Okay, okay, I get it. We don't have time to argue. Are you all ready?"

"I think so," Ryo nodded nervously.

Expression softening, Marik placed a comforting hand on Ryo's shoulder. "Don't be so nervous. You will be fine."

"Thank you," Ryo blushed. None of the boys noticed the look the pair shared, but Anzu raised an eyebrow knowingly.

Seto Kaiba appeared to tell them that it was time to hit the stage. Marik quickly put the finishing touches to their hair and make up, while Seto left to announce them.

In a flash of light and noise, they ran out to face a wall of adoring fans screaming for them. The atmosphere was electric and the band rose to the occasion, giving the audience a show that they would remember forever..

After the show, they were quickly driven away from the theatre in Seto Kaiba's limo, to a luxury hotel where they would wind down.

"Wow, that was the best gig ever!" Yugi breathed as he, Anzu and Atem all threw themselves into a large leather couch in the private suite Kaiba had booked for them.

"They absolutely loved us!" Anzu giggled. Her original ambition was to be a ballerina. She never imagined she would end up dancing, singing backing vocals and playing percussion in her boyfriend's band. But she was absolutely loving it.

"Did ya see all those girls screaming for ME?!" Jonouchi grinned excitedly.

"And this is just the beginning," Seto added. "I plan for you to be the first Japanese rock band to have worldwide success."

"I still have to keep pinching myself to believe this is really happening," said Ryo.

"Yeah, its like this is all a dream and I'm gonna wake up and find I have to babysit my snotty little nephew." Honda's comment made them all laugh.

"Well, I can assure you all this is real," Seto informed them. "Who would like a glass of champagne to celebrate?"

Six tired but happy faces smiled and nodded that they would.

* * *

**Thank you for reading.**


	4. Revelation

Before I get this chapter underway, I should mention that Ryo and Marik are both gay and in a relationship in this story. It does not reflect how I see them in canon, but, saying that, they do make a cute couple so in this story they are together romantically.

* * *

Chapter 4:

Revelation.

One year later:

After yet another sell out concert, the band were winding down at the hotel where they were staying for the night.

It had been a heady, whirlwind of a year and they rarely had any time to themselves any more. They had a number one album, two number one singles and several sell out concerts. There were also television appearances, autograph signings and interviews, as well as filming commercials to launch their own branded merchandise.

Everyone was starting to get a little weary and they were all looking forward to some well earned time off so that they could go home, see their families and unwind.

Thankful that it was their last night of staying in an hotel for a while, they all retired to their rooms for some much needed sleep.

Unfortunately, the room Anzu was sharing with Yugi was too warm and she was having trouble getting to sleep.

Yugi had no such problem. Relaxed in the afterglow of their lovemaking, he had fallen asleep with one arm draped over her body and his face was pressed close to her ear. His arm felt like a lead weight and his gentle breathing in her ear was getting increasingly annoying. Why was it that men always found it so easy to fall asleep after sex, and then insisted on snoring in your ear?

Giving up trying to sleep, Anzu slipped out from under his arm and put on her nightdress, and then pulled a comfy pair of lounge-pants and a baggy sweatshirt on over the top.

She heard Yugi mumble something incomprehensible in his sleep as he rolled over onto the warm space in the bed she had just vacated.

Smiling, she snorted lightly and leaned over to kiss his cheek. He nuzzled his face into her pillow but did not appear to be awake, so she quietly slipped her slippers on, opened the door as quietly as possible, and made her way down to the bar in the hope that it would still be open so that she could get something that might help her sleep.

It was getting close to midnight and she did not expect to find anyone else down there, so she was fairly surprised when she spotted Ryo sitting at the bar with Marik Ishtar.

"Anzu!" Ryo startled at her arrival. "What are you doing up at this hour?"

"I could ask you two the same question!" She responded, teasingly. "I came down to get a chamomile tea to help me sleep. Anyway, why are you sitting at a bar together at midnight?" She gave them a cheeky smile and raised her eyebrows teasingly.

Ryou looked embarrassed when Marik answered her quite brazenly. "I would think it's pretty obvious why we're sitting here together," he smirked.

Ryo frowned at him and mouthed something like a reprimand. Anzu was rubbish at lip reading but she could tell Ryo wanted Marik to keep whatever it was private.

The barman appeared from out back, interrupting them for a moment. Anzu asked for some chamomile tea. The barman obliged but informed them that he could not serve any more drinks after this as he was closing the bar now.

Anzu thanked him for the tea and the barman put his coat on left the trio in the semi dark room.

"So, are you two are an item then?" Anzu said casually, once the barman was out of ear-shot.

Blushing, Ryo looked at her nervously. "Are you shocked?"

"No, not at all. I guessed a while ago. But I didn't like to say anything because you seemed to want to keep it to yourselves."

Ryo tentatively touched Marik's hand. "I think I have always known I preferred men," he whispered quietly. "But I did not want to tell the guys because I was worried they would stop being friends with me. Please don't say anything, I am not sure they would approve and it could split the band apart."

"Oh, Ryo!" She sighed and rubbed his shoulder comfortingly. "I think that deep down they probably guessed, but are in denial. And they would never stop being your friends."

"Why? Has Yugi said anything to you?" Ryo enquired, tentatively.

"Not as such. I think he and the other guys feel awkward and try to avoid the subject of your sexuality. Like I said, they are in denial."

"I thought as much. I kind of feel like everyone likes to pretend I'm a regular guy. I am a regular guy, I just don't fancy girls. Ironic when you think about it, because girls like me and follow me around," he let out a hollow laugh and rolled his eyes at the heartache it had always caused him.

"I can understand you being afraid to come out, but you should," Anzu reasoned. "You will most likely upset many of your adoring female fans, but they will get over it. And who knows, you might even attract a whole bunch of new fans!"

"Yeah, the band might become a gay icon," Marik joked.

"Oh dear! The guys won't be too happy about that, " Ryo frowned.

"I don't think they will care as long as you are happy with who you are Ryo. Anyway, isn't it supposed to be trendy these days?" She winked.

"It has certainly increased my popularity!" Marik joked, tipping his head to the side, smirking and waggling his eyebrows up and down.

But rather than laugh, Ryou sagged. "This is serious Marik. I'm worried about how they will react. I expect Yugi and Atem will be polite and accept it. But I'm not sure about Jonouchi. He already makes crude jokes about my lack of libido where females are concerned. And Honda's not much better. And I don't even want to consider what Seto Kaiba will say."

"You leave Jonouchi and Honda to me!" Anzu said resolutely. "If they get out of line, I'll beat them up for you. Hell, I will even beat Kaiba up if he complains." The trio giggled.

"Thank you Anzu." Ryo took her hand and squeezed it gently. "Will you talk to Yugi for me and find out what he thinks the others will say?" He let out a sigh. "I'm a coward aren't I?"

"No! Of course you're not a coward. But I think the longer you leave it the harder it will be. I will speak to Yugi. But perhaps you should probably tell the guys before they see you two together like I just did. Or even worse, find out online or in the gossip column of a newspaper!"

"Anzu is right Ryo. I'm also fed up with creeping around like we are some dirty little secret. I want our relationship to be out in the open," Marik stated firmly.

"It won't be as bad as you think," Anzu added.

"That's exactly what I keep saying," Marik agreed. "Anyway, I'm off to bed." He yawned and ruffled Ryo's hair. "Coming, Fluffy Bunny?" He giggled when Ryo scowled at him in annoyance.

"Don't call me that!" Ryo went bright pink.

Bidding her goodnight, the pair got up and Ryo poked Marik in the back and called him a flamboyant tart.

Anzu shook her head and laughed at the way the pair were behaving around one another –they made a good couple.

"Wait up guys. I think I will take this to my room." She picked up her tea and followed them to the elevator.

Marik pressed the button for their floor and the doors slid closed.

"Now that we're out and proud, maybe you should sleep in my room tonight?" Marik winked.

"We're not properly out! What if the other guests see us and don't approve?" Ryo complained, looking to Anzu for approval.

She shrugged. "It doesn't worry me. And you shouldn't worry about the other guests Ryo. If you're discreet none of them will even know." They got out of the lift and Anzu went towards the room she and Yugi were sharing, while Marik and Ryo both went to Marik's room.

At the sound of the door clicking shut, Yugi yawned sleepily and looked up. "Anzu... where..you.. been?" He mumbled. She cringed at having disturbed him. "Sorry if I woke you. I couldn't sleep so I went to get a chamomile tea." She put the cup down, took off her tracksuit and slipped into bed beside Yugi.

"You okay?" He muttered.

"I'm fine. You fell asleep half laying on me and then snored in my ear. I couldn't get to sleep."

He pulled himself up to sit. "Sorry!" He said sheepishly. "You should have pushed me off." He hopped out of bed, still completely naked, grabbed his cotton pyjama shorts and scurried to the bathroom for a pee.

He returned a few minutes later, now wearing his shorts, and climbed back into bed. He was slightly concerned when he saw Anzu was still sitting in bed with her knees drawn up, sipping her now nearly cold tea. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." She wondered if now was a good time to tell him about Ryo and Marik. After pondering for a moment, she decided to get it over with_._ "I've just been talking to Ryo and Marik."

"What were they doing up at this time of night?" He wondered.

"They were in the bar. They are together." She gazed at him, awaiting his response.

There was a pause. "Oh! Oh...!" He gazed at her with a shocked expression. "You mean as a couple?! Are you sure you're not jumping to conclusions?" Deep down, he knew. He just did not want to admit it was true. Ryo had been his friend for four years and he had never shown any interest in other boys.

"Ryo admitted he was gay and they told me they are a couple." She was a little concerned by Yugi's reaction.

"O...k..a..y!" He scratched the back of his head and looked slightly disturbed by the news, prompting Anzu to think that maybe she should not have told him.

"How long have they... you know?" He pulled a slightly disgusted face and for a moment Anzu felt angry at him for reacting in such a way as to appear disapproving.

"A while, I think. They've been keeping it secret because they didn't want you being a disapproving prude like you are now," she said, accusingly. He looked horrified that she could think he disapproved.

"I'm not! I'm just...!"

"Homophobic?"

His eyes widened at the accusation. "No! Of course I'm not! It's just... It must have been really stressful for him keeping it to himself. Especially when Jou and Honda tease him for not being interested in his fan-girls. I tried to tell myself he's not gay, just shy. But I'm shy, yet I still enjoy girls giving me attention." He cringed slightly when he saw the look she gave him and backtracked slightly. "Or I would if I wasn't in love with you..."

He breathed an inward sigh of relief that she did not enquire further as to his slip-up about girls giving him attention – they tended to keep away when Anzu was around. "Anyway, lets talk about it more in the morning. We have a long journey tomorrow so you should try and get some sleep." He kissed her cheek and snuggled down, facing her.

"Yeah, I think I am going to feel tired tomorrow," she sighed. It was well past two now and she was feeling exhausted. Placing her cup and saucer down, she snuggled into his arms and rested her head on his chest. "I hope everything turns out okay for Ryo and Marik." She was starting to worry if she might have stirred up trouble for them.

"Stop worrying. To be honest, me and Atem have suspected for a while - we all have."

"And it doesn't bother any of you?" She raised her head to look at him.

"No. It doesn't bother us. In fact, it will be a relief for all of us when it's all in the open. Now go to sleep." He kissed her and they settled back down.

Anzu still did not think she would sleep, but the loving way he stroked her hair, coupled with the rhythmic beating of his heart and the gentle rise and fall of his chest, soon lulled her into a sense of security.

::::::::::::

A press conference was being called to announce Ryo's revelation. "Why now?!" Seto Kaiba massaged his temple as he scolded the two blonde males, sitting on the other side of his desk. "Why wait until the middle of the tour? Why didn't you come out when you first joined the band? Or wait for a couple of years? It would have been far easier."

"I'm sorry," Ryo muttered, looking down at his hands clasped nervously in his lap. "I didn't wish to cause anyone any trouble. I thought I could keep it to myself. But I was not planning on feelings to develop with Marik."

Seto sighed and placed the heels of his hands over his eyes and shook his head. "So, Ishtar! I guess that since you were employed by me as my stylist and image consultant, it's my fault for bringing you two together," he snorted. "I knew _you_ were queer Ishtar, I just did not expect you to start seducing members of my band!"

"We can't help who we feel the need to seduce, can we Kaiba? Of all people, you and my sister should know that!" He gave a satisfied smirk when he saw Seto's cheeks flush slightly.

"Well, there's not a lot we can do about it now, is there?" Seto sat back in his chair. "At least all your band mates are being supportive. Perhaps we can even manipulate the situation to our advantage. I know it can be an issue here, but there are plenty of celebrities in other countries who have come out, and it has not affected their popularity. A few parents here might disapprove, and we may upset a few hormonal schoolgirls, but I'm sure they will get over it eventually." He slapped his hands on his desk and stood up. "Right, are you ready to face the firing squad?!"

"What?! It won't be that bad, will it?" Ryo's eyes went wide with fear.

"They are vultures, and will look at any opportunity to rip the meat from your bones. Just stick to the script I prepared for you and you will be fine."

"I will be there with you." Marik placed a comforting hand over Ryo's.

When they exited the office, Yugi, Anzu, Atem, Jonouchi and Honda were waiting in the lounge.

"Guys?!" Ryo's eyes lit up when he saw his friends.

"You didn't think we would let you go through this alone did ya Bakura?! Stuff traditionalists who pretend there's no such thing as gay! We're gonna show em were metrosexual and proud," Jonouchi grinned, standing up and grabbing his friend in a bear hug to show his support. Everyone grimace slightly at Jonouchi's statement, but kind of understood what he was trying to say.

"Thank you Jonouchi!" Ryo wheezed, prising himself free of Jonouchi's crushing hug. "Thank you, all of you."

"Just make sure you keep your blabbermouth shut mutt," Seto glared at Jonouchi. "I don't want you saying something moronic... like you just did!"

"As if I would... you..." Jonouchi retaliated.

"Come on man, calm it!" Honda grabbed his friend. "All you need to do is sit quiet and let Kaiba, Ryo and Marik do the talking."

"Yes, we're just here to show that we are still your friends, no matter what," Yugi added.

Atem patted Ryo on the back. "How about we face the music then."

Everyone made their way to the foyer of Kaiba Corp, where a table had been set up with three seats and three microphones. Seto gestured for Ryo to sit in the middle. He sat down to his right, while Marik sat to the left. His band mates gathered around, standing behind them.

Ryo looked nervously at the congregation of television, newspaper and music journalists, all impatiently, jostling for position. Many of them had a pretty good idea of what would be said as they had seen this with other public figures in recent years. It seemed that more and more people were starting to feel comfortable with coming out.

Clearing his throat, Ryo totally forgot his script and tried to speak. His voice felt hoarse and shaky as he announced to the press that he was a gay man and was in a relationship with Marik Ishtar.

Camera's flashed as he spoke.

Questions were being thrown at him while he was still speaking, causing him to start stuttering. Marik was quick to step in to help him get through his statement.

Meanwhile, Seto sat glaring at those who interrupted, making a mental note not to answer any of their questions.

When it all was over, Ryo felt frazzled, but he also felt a sense of relief. The press conference had been horrific, but at least it felt like a heavy burden had been lifted and he could now be true to himself, and not feel like a misfit. His friends were still his friends, and were not going to chuck him out of the band. They did not behave awkwardly around him either. If anything, their friendships had all grown stronger.

And one month later, his adoring female fans still flocked around him. Some in the hope they could turn him straight, but most, in a more motherly; we wish to share your angst sort of way.

He even found that he did not mind the female attention as much as he once did, because he felt more at ease with who he was. And there were even a few cute boys joining his fan-girls, much to Marik's displeasure.

* * *

**There was never a doubt in my mind that his friends should not accept him for who he is. It reflects my own opinion that we are all human beings and should accept each other for who we are and not what we are. **

**A fairly short chapter, but hope you enjoyed. **


	5. Jonouchi's Story

Only a short chapter, but I wanted it to stand on its own and have an impact. The end is quite sad, so have a tissue ready. I know it was never mentioned that Hirutani had any connection to the Yakuza, in this story he does.

Chapter 5

Jonouchi's story:

Growing up had not been easy for Katsuya Jonouchi. The cracks in his parents marriage started to show when his father started staying out late after work. Slight disagreements turned into arguments, where vicious words were spoken, and it quickly became apparent that Mister Jonouchi Senior had a drinking problem.

When Mrs Jonouchi found out that her husband was also having an affair with a woman at work -a woman who also liked to drink- the marriage started falling apart.

They tried to work things through for the sake of the children, and Mister Jonouchi promised to get some help for his addiction, and also end the affair.

But when he lost his job and the drinking problems and violent outbursts started to become unbearable, Katsuya's mother packed her bags and left to stay her parents, taking his more vulnerable sister Shizuka with her. Katsuya was left behind with his father. His mother promised she would return for him, but she never did.

Not long after she left, the family home had to be sold after it was discovered that his father had run up a large gambling debt. His mother subsequently divorced his father, married someone else and moved to Hamamatsu. Jonouchi had never forgiven his mother for leaving him with his useless, drunken father and had not spoken to her since he was twelve.

After that, his days were spent skipping school to hang out with a local gang. His best friend, Hiroto Honda, stopped being his friend, and his new best friend became Hirutani –the notorious son of a Yakuza boss. It was not long before Jonouchi was equally notorious.

Of course, his mother had no idea what was going on with her son, and his father was too busy drinking himself into oblivion to care.

After being arrested and almost ending up in a juvenile correction facility, Jonouchi's father momentarily came to his senses and took him out of Rintama Elementary at the end of year nine. Rather than attend Rintama High School, he transferred to Domino.

At first Jonouchi rebelled and refused to go, but was given no choice when his social worker told him it was either Domino High School or Domino Young Offenders Prison.

He was reluctant to comply and was determined to cause as much disruption as he could so that he could get expelled, but on his first day he met up with Honda again and they started to hang out together, re-kindling their old bond. They entertained themselves by picking on kids like Yugi – when his over protective brother Atem was not around.

However, Yugi surprised them with his courage one afternoon when he stepped up and put himself between the pair and a nasty senior, who prided himself on being a prefect who dished out punishment to the kids that caused trouble, called Tetsu Ushio. All three of them took a beating that day but it had the odd effect of cementing a friendship that would last a lifetime -or so they hoped.

It was odd to think that they all became friends because of bullying! But looking back on that day, ending up at Domino High was the best thing that could have happened to Jonouchi.

His new friends, Yugi and Atem both played guitar. They were always saying they wanted to form a band. Yugi would tell Jonouchi all about their plans with a big grin on his face. But they never did anything about it until Honda said one day, "Well, what's stopping you?"

What was stopping them? Atem thought, and decided that the band would be born today.

Yugi was keen for Jonouchi to join, but with his dire financial situation he did not think it was possible – he was having to work part time jobs after school, just to keep afloat. "That's really cool of you to ask Yugi! I wish I could, but the only instrument I can play is a triangle and I can't sing.." he answered, wishing his situation could be different.

"I can teach you," Yugi offered.

"Yeah, but what would I play? You and Atem play guitar, Kura does keyboards, and there's no way I can afford a set of drums!"

"How about bass guitar?" Atem suggested. "We need a bass player, and it's pretty easy to learn."

"Yeah!" Jonouchi said brightly and then sagged. "I don't have any money." They would have to look elsewhere for a bass player.

The next morning, Jonouchi was up early delivering newspapers. As he peddled past a charity shop, he spotted a second hand bass guitar in the window. He skidded to a stop to look. "Are the music gods smiling on me, or what?!" The shop was not open yet so he decided to go back and check it out later.

It turned out to be a bargain. Deciding it would be an investment, he raided the money put aside to pay the bills and bought it.

He was in the band. All he had to do now was learn how to play the damn thing!

"You will need an amplifier too Jonouchi," Yugi told him.

"A what?!"

"It's something you plug the guitar into and it makes a noise," Yugi replied.

"Oh! Shit! Why didn't no one tell me I needed one of those?"

"It's okay Jonouchi, I think we probably have a spare one at home you can plug into," Atem chipped in.

It took some time and effort, but Jonouchi mastered the bass.

But they still needed a drummer.

As luck would have it, Honda had a cousin who played drums and he had recently upgraded his kit, so he was more than happy to let Honda have his old one for a knock down price. He even gave Honda some lessons.

Between them, Honda and Jonouchi became a pretty good foundation for the band's sound.

::::::::::::

Great things did not happen to a guy like Jonouchi. He had always been told that guys with his background always amounted to nothing. The best he could expect was a future as a gangster running errands for the Yakuza and then either wind up dead or in prison missing one of his pinkies.

Yet here he was a superstar! He was earning lots of money, had a beautiful girlfriend, was paying for his sister's eye surgery and had even enrolled his father on a rehab programme.

Nothing could take this success away from him; it was all his. Life could not be better!

Atem's new car was cool. As they sped along, Jonouchi thought he might get himself a decent set of wheels too. He fancied a big ass pick-up truck!

Laughing and singing along to the loud music booming from the car speakers, he could not be happier.

He suddenly saw something – a deer – run across the road in front of them. "Look out!" He yelled.

There was an awful screech of tyres as Atem hit the brakes.

A loud thud! Jonouchi instinctively put his arms up to shield himself. There was a loud bang as the airbags all went off, pinning him in place. The car flipped and Jonouchi had no idea which way was up or down.

When it all stopped, he was crushed into his seat, submerged in cold, mucky water and vegetation. He could not see. His is head was ringing. His body was completely numb.

But at least he was alive!

Or so he thought.

Standing on the grass verge, he noted the deep gouge in the ground where the car had gone into the ditch. The deer lay dead on the other side of the road – its lifeless eyes bulging and blood dripping from its mouth.

What a mess!

Studying himself for any damage, he smirked. He had been lucky to get out of that carnage without a single scratch!

A couple of cars stopped and the occupants were doing what they could to help out while waiting for the emergency services. He called out to them but they did not hear him.

The sound of sirens filled his ears and bright lights sped towards him. The ambulance passed right through him before stopping. "What the fuck! Hey guys, watch out!"

He stopped yelling at them and looked down at his hands. "Oh! Crap!" If they could not see him and had passed through him, did that mean...? "I'm dead!"

* * *

**Told you the ending was a bit shocking.**


	6. Terrible News

It just occurred to me that I should really be publishing cheerful stories at this time of year, but I'm afraid this is yet another chapter with a sad ending. But there is a bit of fun banter between Seto and Pegasus in the first half, so here goes...

* * *

Chapter 6

Terrible News.

The band had worked hard over the last year. The concerts had all sold out quickly and there were requests for extra dates to be added.

Seto Kaiba was not a man to give praise, but he was actually quite proud of what they had achieved. Who would have thought that a bunch of mismatched classmates he thought of as dweebs would have become such a phenomenon?!

Of course, they could not have done it without his expert guidance.

There had been a slight concern when that silly poof Ryo Bakura had decided to come out as gay, right in the middle of their first major tour, and announce he was in a relationship with Marik Ishtar as well. Seto knew Marik Ishtar was gay so he should have foreseen something like this might be a possibility. But Marik was a good stylist and there was no way he wanted to sack him.

However, any fears Seto had about the romance between the pair damaging the band's popularity had been unfounded. If anything it had made them even more popular!

It was good to be back in Domino for a couple of weeks of well earned rest. Seto was in need of some time off, and so were the band if they were to avoid burnout.

Unfortunately, it was turning out to be anything but rest! The local radio station, and the local newspaper, quickly found out they were back home and wanted interviews. There were also photo sessions to be arranged and merchandise to be approved. Local charities had also contacted his office asking if they might lend some support for their fundraising efforts.

It appeared that managing this band was turning out to be much more than just the side line enterprise he originally thought it would be. It was now a full time job and become his life!

To ease the burden a little, he had invited the eccentric multi millionaire, record and media company executive, Pegasus J. Crawford, to attend the press conference and autograph signing this afternoon – Pegasus was the ideal person to get them coverage in America.

Following the press conference, a meal and a party at the Kaiba Stadium had been arranged and the party was now in full swing.

"I must say Kaiba-boy, your little pop group are all very cute," Pegasus purred, in that annoying tone that Seto found irritating. "From what I have seen, and heard, they might just be the first Japanese pop group to be successful all around the world! But I'm certain you will agree when I say that you need my expertise if you are to make it happen."

"I was hoping you would be able to get them into America." Pegasus stood way too close to him for comfort so he stepped back sightly.

"Of course Kaiba-boy. But I would want a fifty-fifty partnership if I am to give them their break in America." He knew he was asking a lot, but it was worth a try. Seto snorted dismissively in response.

"Do you think I was born yesterday? Management of them is not up for grabs Pegasus."

"Oh, dear!" Pegasus feigned heartbreak. "And here was I hoping you would allow me to penetrate your inner circle."

Seto bit down a sarcastic retort. Why did this man have to flirt with him so outrageously? Pegasus had a beautiful wife, so why was he acting so outrageously camp?

Seto decided to be cautious. It was probably some sort of business tactic to put him off his guard and end up agreeing to give away too much of his control over the band's business affairs. "I would be happy to set up a subsidiary management company in the U.S, and for you own a stake in that company. But you would still be working for me. You have the contacts there, so your role would be to book gigs and manage the promotion of the band. The band's overall management is not up for negotiation Pegasus."

"Oh! Really Kaiba-boy. You are so suspicious. I merely wish to help your little pop group achieve what they so richly deserve. So! This is my final offer. We will set up a management company in America, of which, I will require a fifty percent holding. It will be a completely separate company from Kaiba Corporation and I won't have any claims to your parent company. How does that grab you?"

"Hmmmph," Seto growled under his breath.

"But, of course," Pegasus continued. "I fully understand your fears. You have put such a lot into making them a sensation in Japan, but you would be out of your depth in America. There is a lot of work required and you cannot do it without my help."

"Very well Pegasus, but nothing happens without my approval. I will draw up an agreement for your management company to be sub-contracted to _my_ company, to work exclusively for Millennium World."

"You mean we won't be partners?! Oh, I'm so deeply wounded." He pouted and placed his hand over his heart in a mock swoon.

Seto wanted to smash him round the head with his briefcase but refrained from showing any sort of emotional response.

Getting no reaction, Pegasus became serious. "Very well, I will agree to your terms. I was hoping that I could be the band's manager in the US and assign them to my record label, but you are clearly an astute business man and I respect that. But you are making a mistake in trying to control everything yourself. America is a vast country and will take up a great deal of your time and resources."

Seto thought about it for a moment. Pegasus was right. It would take up far more time than he had. "Okay Pegasus, you win. You will be their manager in the US, but under my leadership. Nothing happens without my say so."

"Cheers Kaiba-boy! to a lasting relationship!" He held up his wine glass for a toast, emphasising the word relationship.

"To a lasting.. business relationship," Seto confirmed, emphasising the word business. They shook hands and Seto was surprised to find that Pegasus did not have a limp clammy handshake as he had suspected he might, but in fact had a firm, crushing handshake.

Chuckling, Pegasus stepped to Seto's side, and, much to his relief, out of his comfort zone.

"I must say, your boys are popular with the ladies." Pegasus gestured over to where Atem was sitting with Mai and Vivian. "A looker, that boy!"

Seto looked over, just as Jonouchi flopped himself down in the seat with them. "Which one? Mutou or the Mutt?"

"Ho, ho, ho.." Seto cringed at Pegasus' laugh, "You are funny Kaiba-boy. Yes, the blonde boy does remind me of a big puppy. A real wholesome, boy next door type! We could market him in the US as such."

Seto almost laughed out loud and very nearly spat his malt whiskey everywhere. "The mutt is Katsuya Jonouchi. He actually has a criminal record. The press love how he turned his life around and has made something of himself."

"Oh! Even better! A back story –everyone loves a back story. And of course you have little Ryo and his male lover. Then there is strong, reliable Hiroto behind his drum kit, and last but not least, cute little Yugi with his beautiful ballerina." The two of them watched Atem get up and walk over to his brother.

They continued to observe as some sort of fracas broke out between Jonouchi and Mai, which Pegasus seemed to find amusing for some reason. When Jonouchi ran out, followed by Atem, Yugi and Anzu, he raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, dear! Looks like our young heart throbs have woman trouble," Pegasus sounded rather amused by whatever drama was happening, causing Seto to roll his eyes in annoyance.

"They are idiots sometimes. Atem Mutou has just bought a new Toyota GT86. Maybe they've gone to admire it. They will probably be back in a while."

"Well, Kaiba-boy, it is getting past my bed time," he checked his gold Rolex watch – it was eleven. "I need my beauty sleep, and I'm still suffering from jet-lag." He flicked his head slightly and his hair swished to one side, revealing his golden false eye. Seto was slightly alarmed by it and was dying to ask how Pegasus lost his eye, but kept quiet – if Pegasus wanted to tell him, he would.

Some of the guests took Pegasus' exit as their queue to leave also, and since Seto was tired from all the interviews he had done today, he decided to call it a night too. He noted that Ryo and Marik were also leaving – no doubt to go back to their little love nest. Pop stars and their love lives were a headache sometimes, and he was glad he did not have the time for silly romance.

Arriving home, Seto retired to his private quarters for some rest.

He was just drifting off to sleep, when his phone rang. Swearing under his breath, he reached out and picked it up.

"Mister Seto Kaiba?" A worried, but authoritative voice asked.

"Yes. Who is it?" He barked abruptly in annoyance at being disturbed.

"This is officer Ito. There has been a traffic accident...!" The rest of what the police officer said went over Seto's head. He looked down at his hand and noticed it was shaking.

"Domino Infirmary, you say.. I will go there right away. Have the families been notified?" He was trying to stay as calm as possible.

"Yes Sir."

"Thank you..." Seto ended the call. He was on autopilot as he pressed the intercom to his night security. "I require my limousine to take me to the hospital."

"Are you sick Mister Kaiba?" A worried Isono asked.

"No! But I have just received some bad news. I will be down in five minutes, please be ready." He hastily pulled on some boxers, socks, his black jeans, a dark blue/grey pullover, his silver trench-coat, a pair of old trainers – his feet ached and he wanted something comfortable – and rushed downstairs to the waiting limo.

En-route to the hospital, he rang the band members who were not involved in the accident.

::::::::::::

Ryo and Marik had been enjoying the week off from touring. They had been using the time to move in together.

For most of the week, they had busy been shifting Marik's stuff out of his tiny flat, and into Ryo's spacious luxury apartment. Interior design was also one of Marik's passions and he had already begun planning some changes to the décor that suited them both.

They had arrived home from the party and were just getting ready for bed when they received the call from Seto Kaiba.

"There's been an accident..." The rest of his words went straight through Ryo's heart. He fell to his knees and started sobbing uncontrollably.

Marik was quick to grab the phone and take control. After thanking Seto for letting them know, he knelt down to his boyfriend. "Hey! It's going to be okay Ryo..." Marik had never seen him like this and it was upsetting. "Ryo? What's the matter?"

Ryo collapsed into Marik's arms.

After a few moments, he stopped sobbing and pulled himself together a little. "Sh.. should we go to the hospital?"

"No. Seto said to wait here for further information. He will call us as soon as he knows more. He said only immediate families were allowed in at the moment." Something about this accident was deeply upsetting Ryo and Marik's concern was growing. "Are you okay Ryo? Maybe we should go over to the bed and sit down."

Ryo fixed his boyfriend with a sad look. "Sorry if I reacted so badly. I have never told you this. I.. I don't really like to talk about it, but I feel I should. I.. I lost my mother and my sister Amane in a car accident ten years ago. I wasn't there, but I was told a drunk driver hit them."

"I am sorry." No stranger to tragedy, Marik put his arms around Ryo and kissed his forehead. "I wish I could do more to comfort you. If it helps, I don't think Atem was drinking. He had a cola when I saw him, and he was too busy with fending off that annoying woman."

"Why did they have to go driving late at night? My mother's car was hit late at night," Ryo sniffed.

"I don't know. Maybe he went for a drive to escape from Vivian. But try not to worry about it. Will you let me help you?" He smiled at him lovingly.

Ryo smiled back at him with a forlorn expression and nodded. "Thank you... Just hold me.. Feeling you close to me is help enough." He sighed to himself. "I thought I could deal with losing them by keeping it all inside here," he touched his hand over his heart. "But I don't think I have ever healed properly."

Marik took his hands in his. "We both have our demons. Perhaps that's why we were attracted to each other." He took a deep breath. "I have never told this to anyone. I was the youngest child in a somewhat strange family. My mother died giving birth to me. My father went a bit insane after that and kept myself, my sister and my adopted brother imprisoned in an old tomb complex underneath the house we lived in. I yearned to see the world above, so one day my stepbrother, Rishid, covered for me and my sister while we went outside. My father found out and beat Rishid half to death as punishment. He would have killed him had I not..." He started to tremble. It took several long minutes before he could continue. "We returned just in time to stop him. I took a ceremonial dagger and I... I killed my father."

"Oh... I see," Ryo shakily nodded.

"Does that change how you feel about me?" Marik asked quietly. He was a murderer, so he would not blame Ryo if he wanted to walk away. Ryo shook his head.

"My own father was killed by his own greed, while I stood and watched." He did not elaborate further –he felt there was no need. "It sounds like your father was a monster so you had no other choice. What did you and your brother and sister do afterwards?"

"My sister saw to it that my father's body was buried deep within the tomb, and together we nursed Rishid back to health. We put it behind us like it never happened and made new and successful lives for ourselves. But it's always there in the recesses of our minds, like a huge ugly wound that only we can see and feel."

"Maybe we can help each other to heal our wounds," Ryo frowned sadly. "I don't know what I'm going to do if my friends don't survive." He was cursed, he was sure. It was beginning to feel like the people he loved tended to be cursed as well, or die, and he truly did not know if he could deal with any more tragedy in his life.

* * *

**Well, there we have it - another depressing chapter. **

**Also, I have not forgotten about Jonouchi's situation. We will find out what has happened to everyone in the next chapter - I think!**


	7. Too Young To Die

Sorry I did not get this posted over the weekend, but I was away, staying at a spa hotel enjoying a bit of R & R.

Warnings: Mentions of injury and treatment for trauma.

* * *

Chapter 7.

Too Young To Die.

Yugi had always looked up to his brother. As the more confident of the two, Atem tended to be quite assertive. Yugi was usually happy with this and only really asserted his own will if he felt his brother was being too reckless or forceful. Their partnership had always served them well and working together had got them out of some sticky situations growing up.

However, tonight, Yugi was happy to throw all caution to the wind, and did not try to discourage his brother from trying out his 'racing driver' skills in any way whatsoever.

He really liked his brother's new car and found the speeds Atem was hitting exhilarating.

The car was a deep cherry red colour and had black and grey leather seats, and that really nice 'new car' smell. When Atem picked it up from the garage it only had 17 miles on the clock. It also had an awesome sound system.

With music blasting, they sped along the motorway and Yugi felt invincible.

"When are you going to get a car Yugi?" Anzu called out above the music. Yugi grinned at her and reached across the seat to hold her hand.

"Yeah, maybe," he nodded. But would a sports car be a good idea? He had only just passed his test and Grandpa had told him he should be driving something a bit smaller to begin with. Atem had received the same advice when he passed a couple of months ago but had chosen to ignore it. "You should learn to drive as well Anzu," Yugi suggested. She shrugged.

"We're always away on tour, so I've not really felt the need. But perhaps I will soon," she replied.

When Atem drove onto the slip road, exited the motorway and took the bend at high speed, Anzu nearly rolled across the seat into Yugi.

"Atem! Slow down! You're gonna get us all killed!" She shouted.

"Nah...! Stop complaining! This is awesome fun!" Said Jonouchi, twisting round and peering between the gap in the front passenger seat.

"Atem's a good driver Anzu. We're safe," Yugi reassured.

"He might be but..." She did not get to finish her sentence, because Jonouchi suddenly shouted and a loud thud stopped her short.

Yugi had barely even had time to register what happened. One minute they were speeding happily along an undulating road heading into the hills, and the next, he had his feet up by the door and was sort of suspended sideways, held in place by his seat belt and airbags. Anzu appeared to be underneath his left side. His head hurt. He put his hand up and felt warm, sticky liquid. He knew it was blood.

Atem was sobbing in the front and was mumbling their names. Yugi attempted to call out to reassure him that he and Anzu were both fine, even though he was not sure that they were, but it came out was a rasping cough.

He was struggling to stay awake and the pain was terrible. But he had to remain alert for Anzu. He could hear her whimpering and called her name. "C.. can you touch my hand?" He coughed again, ignoring the pain in his chest as he reached for her. He was comforted when he found her shoulder.

"I can't move," she cried. "I'm trapped."

He tried to move round so that he could see her, but it was dark, and when he moved, pain shot through his chest and head and he blacked out momentarily.

He woke again to hear frantic voices outside the car. "I think...help is here. They will get us out."

The road they were on was not busy at this time of night, but luckily, another motorist had been going the same way and had rung for help.

The police turned up, and shortly after an ambulance and fire engine with cutting equipment arrived.

The emergency services worked swiftly to remove Yugi from the wreckage. A neck collar was fitted, and then he was carefully placed on a spinal board as a precaution. He mumbled that he was fine and to stop fussing. It was just a cut on the head. He was more worried about the others than himself.

To begin with, he did seem fine and was fairly lucid. But as they assessed his injuries, he started to rapidly deteriorate.

"I'm worried about his head and chest." The emergency doctor gently felt around his rib-cage. "Can you tell me if this hurts?" Even though he heard them talking to him, Yugi was no longer able to respond properly. He could no longer breathe, as the blood filling his chest had caused his lung to collapse. and he was becoming so unresponsive that he could not react when a light was shone in his eyes.

"His blood pressure is dropping and his pupils have dilated. We need to intubate and get him to hospital."

Yugi did not understand what they were talking about. A needle was placed in his arm and everything went black.

Now that Yugi was out of the car, a trauma doctor was able to get into the wreckage to assess Anzu properly. She asked Anzu her name and wanted to know if she was in any pain.

"My back... Where's Yugi?"

"Don't move your head Anzu." She gently held Anzu's head still to prevent her from turning her head, and called to a colleague for a collar and spinal board.

Anzu's only concern was her boyfriend.

"The young man who was next to you is being looked after by my colleagues and is being taken to hospital."

"But I need him," Anzu whimpered.

"First we need to get you out. They might let you see him when you get to hospital. Now, I need you to stay absolutely still and tell me where the pain is." She started feeling Anzu's spine from her neck down.

Everything was hurting, but when the doctor reached her lumbar region she hissed in pain. "It's much worse there."

"Okay, you might have broken your back so I want you to remain completely still while we get you out. Can you feel me touching your legs?" She reached down and touched her thighs and calves but could not reach her feet. Anzu could only feel limited sensation in her left leg.

"Will I dance again?" She started to sob.

"Let's not worry at this stage. But we will do everything to ensure that you can." A needle was put in her arm. "I'm giving you something for the pain."

A collar was placed on her neck and she was carefully lifted onto a spinal board and strapped in for the helicopter ride to hospital.

::::::::::::

As Atem was carried away from the wreckage of his car on a stretcher, he felt sick. The world was spinning and he was at the mercy of the people who were carrying him.

As someone who always liked to be in control, he suddenly felt very vulnerable and started to panic and cry.

Voices were trying to calm him down and more medication was administered.

In his drug induced stupor, he could have sworn he saw Jonouchi hovering over him, gesticulating wildly and yelling at people. He found this strange because he was certain Jonouchi was still inside the wrecked car.

He wanted to get off the stretcher, and go over to ask his friend what he was doing there, but he was being moved into an ambulance and would not let him. The doors closed and Jonouchi was no longer in view.

::::::::::::

It was weird watching your injured buddies being pulled out of a car and taken away in a helicopter and ambulances. Jonouchi tried to ask Atem what the heck was going on, but Atem was drugged out of his mind and just gave him a glassy eyed stare as he was lifted into the ambulance.

"Will someone tell me da fuck is happening?!" Jonouch yelled at someone in exasperation. The paramedic ignored him.

He suddenly spotted a body being carried gently from the car and placed onto a stretcher in the road. The body was his!

He ran to the paramedic and doctor kneeling over him and yelled at them. "Hey! I'm here! Guys, I'm fine!" They ignored him as if he did not exist.

"How long has he been down for?" One of them said grimly.

"I don't know. But he's young, we have to at least try!" The other replied. There was a determination in his voice and in the way he worked.

"Hey! What are ya doing to my body?" Jonouchi was filled with anger as they cut off his expensive new shirt, and then started pounding on his chest. "Oi! That was my favourite tee-shirt, you bastard!"

They ignored him and placed an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose.

Jonouchi was getting upset now. He was right here and they couldn't even see him!

They paused the chest compressions to put an IV line into his arm. "Get me 300 micrograms of amiodarone and one of atropine?" The doctor ordered. The drugs were administered.

"Still no pulse," the paramedic shouted.

"Prepare to shock!" Pads were placed on his chest. "Charging, one two, three, clear! Shocking now!" Jonouchi almost screamed out as his body bounced violently when it was shocked.

"Still no output! Okay! Trying one more time.. clear!" His body jerked violently again and Jonouchi flinched as he watched.

"Come on guys?! Ya gotta do better than that!" Suddenly, being dead seemed terrifyingly real. "Come on, I don't wanna die, I don't wanna die..." Screaming, he decided to kick death in the face and tried to will his soul back into his body.

He knew his body was in a bad way and that it would be painful, but it was his body and there was no fucking way he was gonna leave it just yet. Hell, he still only nineteen. He also had to make it up with Mai!

Suddenly, he was no longer watching the scene.

"Yes! We have a weak pulse."

"Okay, his oxygen levels are still dangerously low, we need to get him to hospital asap!"

With his life hanging by a thread, he was lifted onto the waiting helicopter and rushed to the hospital.

* * *

**Well, things don't look too great for everyone right now, do they?**


	8. Critical Care

More scenes of medical treatment. But amidst all the misery they're going through, Seto finds love when nurse Kisara makes an appearance.

* * *

Chapter 8.

Critical Care.

The first casualty to arrive at the hospital was Yugi. He had been taken by air ambulance after his head injury had suddenly become life threatening.

The air ambulance team handed him over to the emergency department, explaining that he had been a passenger in the rear of a vehicle that had been involved in an impact with a deer while travelling at high speed, causing the vehicle to overturn into a ditch. His main injuries were a left side hemothorax and an injury to his head. He had been intubated at the scene and a chest drain inserted. He was now stable, but the head injury was a major concern.

The consultant in charge thanked them and turned to his team. "Okay, we need to arrange for an urgent CT scan. We will do an ex-ray of his chest while we're waiting." The team went to work, methodically and efficiently.

Atem and Anzu were brought in shortly after, within minutes of each other. They were placed in adjacent treatment bays.

Anzu had been heavily sedated for the journey to hospital but the sedative was allowed to wear off when she arrived. She listened as the consultant explained to her that they were worried about her spine. "Don't try to nod or move your head, just say yes or no. Can you feel this?"

She could feel nothing when the nurse touched her feet, but she did feel it when something cold brushed her left thigh and then her right thigh. "I have a tingling feeling in my legs. Like pins and needles. Does that mean I will still be able to walk?"

"It is promising that you have some sensation. I expect there to be significant swelling around the fracture which will be pressing on the nerves. We won't know the long term prognosis until we have done some scans. Sorry if I can't give you anything more positive at the moment, but try not to worry too much, okay? Is there anything we can get for you?" The sympathetic looks they were giving her did nothing to reassure Anzu and her bottom lip started to tremble. She wanted her Mum and Dad. She wanted Yugi.

Tears started to trickle from her eyes. "Are my parents here? Can I see Yugi?"

"It's okay," the nurse squeezed her hand and dabbed her tears. "Your parents are just on their way. They will be able to see you as soon as they arrive. Is Yugi the young man who was in the car with you? I think he may be in the next treatment bay."

"Yugi?!" She called out, desperate to hear his voice respond.

::::::::::::

The limousine pulled up outside the hospital and Seto got out.

Running into the emergency department, he demanded to know what was happening.

"Please, take a seat Sir. I will try to find out what is happening with your friends." The receptionist did her best to calm him, but Seto was not one to be fobbed off that easily.

He spotted Sugoroku Mutou, along with Mister and Mrs. Mazaki. They looked like they had only just got here and were being shown into a room. He rushed after them but was stopped by a nurse. "Are you family?"

"No! Yes! I'm their manager." He tried to pass but she stepped in-front of him.

"I'm sorry, only immediate family are allowed."

"Damn you woman, I'm..."

Sugoroku heard his angry voice and turned around. "It's okay Nurse, he's family."

Scowling at him for being so abrupt, the nurse let Seto go into the waiting room.

Everyone looked worried and had tear stained eyes. "How are they? Have you seen them?" Seto asked.

"No. Nothing yet. We just got here," Anzu's mother said anxiously.

"They just told us someone would come and speak with us," Yugi and Atem's mother explained.

Seto slumped down in a spare seat and rubbed the palms of his hands over his face. This was not happening!

::::::::::::

Concerned that Atem's fractured pelvis may be causing him to bleed internally, the doctor did an ultrasound of his abdomen. Apart from just his boxers, he was naked and felt exposed – especially when the doctor pulled his boxers down to examine his pelvis and hips. The cold ultrasound pad made him flinch as it was moved over his tummy. He started shivering uncontrollably and was grateful when a nurse placed a warm blanket over him.

The voices talking around him all seemed to merge into one distant echo, but through the haze of pain and fear, he suddenly heard Anzu's voice calling for Yugi. He could not turn his head to look due to the surgical collar around his neck but he was keen to reassure her.

"Anzu! It's me. Atem!" He attempted to twist round to look in her direction but winced from the pain.

"Try not to move Sir. Is that your friend next door?"

"Anzu. She's... Where's my brother? His name's Yugi." There was an urgency in his request. He had to know if everyone was okay.

"He's being taken for a scan. You might be able to see him briefly when we send you for your scan."

"H.. how is he?"

"Your brother is in good hands. He has a head injury so they are keeping him in an induced coma until he is well enough to wake up."

Atem felt his jaw tremble as tears started to well up in his eyes. This was all his fault! He was almost too afraid to ask where Jonouchi was. He opened his mouth to try, but no words would form.

The nurse dabbed the tears away as they trickled from the corners of his eyes. "You are all being well looked after," she said kindly. "So try to stay calm, okay?"

The doctor had finished doing the ultrasound and assessing his other injuries. "Okay, I cant see any blood in his abdomen, but his blood pressure is still low. I want an ex-ray done of his left arm, left leg and pelvis. And then can we send him for a scan."

"M.. my hand! I'm a professional musician..."

"We will get the specialist to take a look at it, but we need to treat your more urgent injury first. You have a broken femur and a possible fracture to your pelvis; either of those can cause damage to blood vessels and cause you to loose blood."

Atem grimaced and tugged at the surgical collar with his good hand. "I'm thirsty. This is strangling me," he complained

"As soon as we have scanned you we can get this collar off your neck for you, okay? We will probably have to send you for surgery so I'm afraid we can't let you drink much, but we can let you have a few sips." Trying to put his patient at ease, he smiled, patting Atem's shoulder. "Try not to worry, okay? Your mother and grandfather are here. You can see them quickly after we've done your X-Rays and before we take you for your scan."

The few sips of water turned out to be no more than suck a few droplets from what looked like a cotton bud, leaving Atem still feeling thirsty.

As instructed, he lay still for his X-Rays. And while the doctor was reviewing them, his mother and grandfather were allowed to see him. His mother immediately began comforting him by kissing his forehead and stroking his face gently. He felt his bottom lip tremble at her touch.

"Mum... I crashed my car," he said miserably.

"Oh, Atem. I don't want you to be upset. Just know that we love you," she said gently.

He wanted to reach up and cuddle her but could only move one arm. Grandpa saw him reaching out with his right hand and took hold of it gently.

They were both trying to reassure him, but it was causing his tears to start up again.

He barely had a few moments with them before he was wheeled away for his scan.

::::::::::::

When Anzu's parents were told the news that their daughter had a possible spinal injury and might not walk again, they were distraught, but did their best to remain stoic in front of her. "I am sure it will be okay sweetie." Anzu's mother reassured, as she held her daughter's hand while Anzu's father sat down by the bed, looking pale and drawn.

"No Mum. It won't be okay! So please stop saying it is! I know I might be paralysed. I will never get to dance again and I will be crippled and stuck in a stupid chair, and Yugi won't want me any more." She started to cry.

Her mother stroked her arm gently. "It might not be that bad! You haven't even had the scan yet. It might all be fine."

"Then why can't I feel my legs properly?" She pleaded.

"The doctor said it could just be swelling. We will know more when the scan is done. In the meantime, no more talk of being crippled," her father snapped abruptly. He was usually an unemotional man but his eyes were full of tears. He just could not get his head around the possibility that his daughter might be permanently paralysed. He refused to believe it.

"Excuse me?!" A nurse and a porter pushed the curtain aside and entered. "They are ready for you to have your scan now."

"Good luck sweetie." Mrs Mazaki held onto her husband as they watched her being wheeled away. She was their daughter and they would love her no matter what her future held. However, they were both filled with fear at the possibility of Anzu's dream career of being a dancer may be over.

::::::::::::

Word had quickly got out and the media were gathering outside the hospital. Worried fans also started arriving and many were sobbing with grief.

Hospital security staff had been posted to keep them from getting into the hospital. Seto also ordered his own security guards to be stationed around the hospital to prevent reporters and fans from sneaking in.

"Mister Kaiba, Sir? I think you and I should speak to the press before ridiculous rumours start going viral," the investigating police officer said.

Seto fixed him with a glare. "None of you will tell me anything, so how can I tell them anything?"

"We can at least give them something to be going on with, before we have thousands of hysterical teenagers throwing themselves off bridges! I will explain a little about the crash and you can reassure them that at least no one has died."

Seto sighed loudly. He was not looking forward to this, one little bit. "Then, let's get it over with."

Without giving anything away, he told reporters and fans, that at approximately eleven in the evening, four members of the band had been in a car accident. He gave out the names of those involved: Yugi Mutou, Atem Mutou, Katsuya Jonouchi and Anzu Mazaki. He then paused, knowing that the journalists would start interrupting. And sure enough they all started shouting their questions at the same time.

"Who was driving?"

"What caused the accident?"

"Were any other vehicles involved?"

"Had the person driving been drinking or taking drugs?

Seto told him that he could not answer questions involving the crash and gestured for the police officer to take over.

The officer answered the questions briefly and deliberately. He could not confirm the question about drugs or alcohol playing a part, because they were still awaiting the toxicology report.

The humming sound of murmuring could be heard, and random shouts from the crowd, demanding to know more detail about their injuries. Was it true two of them were in life threatening conditions?

"That is all," Set stated, abruptly. "We will give an update on their conditions when we have more information from the doctors treating them. Good night." He turned and walked back into the building.

He slumped against the wall and looked up at the ceiling. God, he felt tired. Why did that idiot Atem have to take his car out tonight? And what the hell were they doing driving at speed on those mountain roads?

He had not seen Atem drinking, but if he had taken anything Seto was unaware of then their image as a clean living band would be shot to pieces.

Atem also should have had more sense. He would not have expected the Mutt to stop him from driving like an idiot, but Yugi should have. Or maybe Anzu should have stopped him! She was usually the sensible voice of reason, and should have had the sense to prevent those hot headed boys from being testosterone fuelled fools. "Arghhh..." He swung round and smashed his fist against the wall. "Shit!" He hissed, feeling a bone crack.

Cradling his hand, he looked at a small trickle of blood ooze from the graze left by the impact, and then glanced at the slight smear of blood on the wall that gave away what he had just done.

"Are you okay Sir?" A pretty young nurse approached him. She had fair skin and bright blue eyes. Her long white blonde hair was tied up in a bun. "Would you like me to take a look at your hand?" She asked, with no judgement or anger in her voice, only kindness.

Seto was all ready to snap her head off but was stopped by her calm, kind-hearted manner and beauty. "Th.. thank you Miss... You are not from Japan are you?" He had no idea why he asked that.

"No, I am from Sweden. My name is Kisara." She gently felt his hand, making him hiss at the discomfort. "You're Mister Kaiba aren't you?" Most of Domino knew who he was.

He nodded dumbly, and much to his embarrassment blushed. He was not sure if he was blushing from being caught punching a wall in frustration and anger, or because he found her attractive.

"Don't worry. The wall won't say anything," she teased.

Looking back down at his skinned knuckle, he huffed in embarrassment.

"Would you like to come with me Mister Kaiba? I will treat your hand in one of the cubicles."

He nodded and followed Kisara into a small treatment room, where she gently placed an ice cold pad over the injury.

"It contains a mild anti-bacterial and will also numb the pain a little." She smiled at him. "I think we should do an X-ray to ensure it is not broken." Following Japanese tradition, she bowed when she stood up.

"Thank you... Kisara. I mean nurse." He blushed and became slightly flustered. "And, I'm –you may call me Seto."

She smiled sweetly and nodded as she turned to leave. "I will see you in a moment Seto. After I arrange your X-Ray." She blushed a pretty shade of pink under his gaze.

He was captivated by her beauty, and the pain from his hand was momentarily forgotten.

How on Earth, at a time like this, had he just managed to meet the woman of his dreams?

* * *

**Well, we now know what Yugi, Atem and Anzu's injuries are, but as of yet we don't know what their recovery will be. And Jonouchi's life still hangs in the balance and we don't know if he will survive.**

**Please review, follow, fav etc...**


	9. Recovery

Atem is questioned by police over the accident. Yugi is awake and he and Atem are reunited, but their reunion might not be as happy as Atem had hoped.

* * *

Chapter 9.

Recovery.

The next two days went by in a haze for Atem. He was on strong pain medication and it made him feel so drowsy that all he seemed to do was sleep.

His broken femur had required surgery, but his fractured pelvis turned out not to be as serious as they first thought. It was a partial, stable fracture that would heal on its own.

He had broken his wrist and also cracked a couple of bones in his hand, so his arm and hand was now in a plaster cast which would need to be on for six weeks.

On the third day, his pain relief was reduced and he started to feel a little better.

He was told there should be no long term problems and that he would make a full recovery. But he would need physiotherapy to get him walking and moving properly. He would also need to do some exercises to strengthen his hand, which could take a few weeks once the plaster cast was off. But he was promised that he would play his guitar again.

However, he was feeling depressed and his main concern was not for himself, but his brother and friends.

The police arrived, keen to question him. The officer sat down in the chair, asked him how he was feeling, and then immediately followed it up by asking him what he remembered about the accident.

Not really wanting to re-live what had happened he scowled miserably.

"When can I see Yugi? I need to know if my friends are all okay." He was frustrated that they were all on separate hospital wards and that no one would tell him how everyone was. All they said was that they were all in stable conditions – whatever that was supposed to mean!

"It is not my job to decide when you or your friends are well enough to be allowed to move. My job is to find out what happened. Now, can you tell me what you remember?" The officer did not have a very nice bedside manner and it was upsetting Atem.

He shook his head. "I don't remember." He frowned and started to tremble. He did sort of remember but his brain wanted to block it all out.

"We have your toxicology reports back and I am able to tell you that you are clear. We found no alcohol or illegal substances in your blood samples." The officer almost sounded disappointed that they had not found anything and Atem felt himself getting angry.

He glared at the man. "Did you think that I...?!" He huffed in annoyance. "I don't do any drugs and I hardly ever drink alcohol. Just because I'm a rock star doesn't mean I..." he hissed through gritted teeth.

"That's good," the officer interrupted. "I know this is hard for you, but if you could try to think back to the night of the crash. We found a dead deer on the opposite side of the road from where your car came to rest. It was pretty bashed-up which would indicate that it was in a collision with your car. Do you remember colliding with the deer?" If the officer was trying to jog Atem's memory and get him to talk, it did the trick.

At the mention of the deer, he caught a vivid flashback and it made him flinch. "We were all happy and were singing along to the music... Anzu told me to slow down. I didn't listen..." he started to cry. "It's my fault, I didn't listen... Jou wanted me to go faster..." Recounting the horror caused him to break down.

Sugoroku came hurrying into the room. "I think my grandson has had enough, don't you officer?" He snapped angrily.

His mother came to his bedside and took her son into her arms. "Mum..." he sniffed. "I killed everyone..." He sobbed into his mother's bosom.

She gently stroked his head and soothed him. "No you didn't. They are all here, in this hospital."

"When will they let me see Yugi? They won't tell me anything."

"We have just come from intensive care where Yugi is being looked after," she explained. "He is doing very well and they hope to wake him up today. I will ask the doctor if it is possible to take you up to see him."

Atem was grateful. "Do you think they can put us in the same room?" His mother did not know but said that she would ask.

Later that day, the doctor and physiotherapist got Atem out of bed for the first time since his surgery. His body was sore and standing was painful, making him complain and curse.

"It is important that we get you mobile again Atem. It will help you recover more quickly," the physiotherapist explained.

After a few simple exercises, designed to keep his muscles from becoming weak, he was allowed to lie back down. The small amount of movement had required a large amount of effort, and a fine film of sweat coated his body. He felt totally exhausted and after a dose of pain relief was soon asleep.

He woke again to find Seto Kaiba sitting at his bedside, with a grim expression. The first thought on Atem's mind was his brother and friends. Had something bad happened to one of them? "Where's Yugi?" He murmured.

"Yugi is awake. The doctors are pleased with his progress. Your mother and grandfather are with him."

"When can I see him?" Atem breathed a sigh of relief and tried adjusting himself so that he was sitting up, propped against the pillows. Seto helped him as best he could, but could only use one arm.

Atem raised an eyebrow at the cast on Seto's hand and wrist. "What have you done to your hand?"

"It's nothing. Just got it caught in a door," he lied, quickly changing the subject. "I have asked them to move Yugi into this room so you can be together."

"What about Jonouchi and Anzu?" Atem's heart lurched when Seto's expression became grim and he looked away for a moment.

"I'm afraid Jonouchi is still in a coma and they don't know if he will wake up. There is a chance that Anzu may be permanently paralysed." Seto could curse himself for being so forthright, but sugar-coating things was not his style.

Atem slowly shook his head and frowned. "No, please God no..." He started to cry. "What have I done?"

As well as being blunt, Seto Kaiba was no good at comforting people either. He knew his bedside manner was cold and it was making him feel uneasy. The young man in front of him was breaking apart emotionally and he had no idea what to say that would make Atem feel better. In his opinion, Atem needed to pull himself together and stop this self pity. "Becoming emotional won't change things. it's counterproductive."

Great! Now he was making things worse.

He tentatively reached out and patted Atem's shoulder with his good hand and looked around for an escape route.

But escape would not be easy because Atem had now taken hold of his arm and was gripping it tightly in his attempts at trying to take comfort in human contact. His grip was strong and Seto could feel his fingers digging into the flesh of his bicep through his silk shirt. It was sure to bruise.

Awkwardly, Seto pulled his arm away and then leaned slightly closer, placing his arm around Atem's shoulders in a half-hearted gesture of comfort. If only Mokuba was here – he was good at this sort of thing.

Moments later, Atem had his face buried in the crook of Seto's neck, sobbing uncontrollably.

::::::::::::

When Yugi woke up, he was confused. He had no memory of the accident and people were talking to him like they knew him. But he had absolutely no idea who they might be and why they seemed so relieved to see him awake.

He looked at his mother and grandfather with a confused expression. "Where am I?" He asked.

Saddened by Yugi's confused state, his mother started chewing on her thumb and forefinger nervously. "What's wrong with my son's memory?" She asked shakily, turning to the doctor with an anxious expression.

"I'm sure Yugi will be fine hen he is properly awake." Sugoroku put his arm around his daughter-in-law's shoulders. He was feeling the same level of anxiety as his daughter-in-law, but knew he needed to stay strong and composed for his family. It was at times like this he was glad he was still able to find his game-face.

"Yugi. Can you sit?" The doctor asked. When he did not even try, the doctor and nurse tried helping him up. But his body was listless and he had no control over it.

"His brain has suffered significant bruising." The doctor explained. "But we would expect him to make a fair amount of progress over the next few days. At the moment he's still drowsy, and confused from the medication. Once he's properly awake, his coordination and memory should improve."

Mrs Mutou nodded. "Thank you doctor. It's just so terrible to see my son like this. He will make a full recovery though, won't he?"

"It is hard to say. Everyone responds differently. At best, he will make a full recovery and have no long term complications. At the very worst, he may lose some of his basic sensory functions, or suffer some long term changes in his personality. We will issue a plan of care. Try not to worry, okay?"

That was easier said than done.

"When will you be moving him to his brother's room?" Sugoroku wanted to know. He was certain that Yugi and Atem would recover more quickly if the were together.

"It is not something we would normally do. His brother is on the orthopaedic ward and we would prefer to keep Yugi on the specialist head trauma unit, but if you think having them together will benefit their recovery, then we could move them both to a shared room, closer to this ward."

"Yes, please doctor," Sugoroku confirmed. "My grandsons are very close and hate being apart for long."

"I understand," the doctor nodded. He did not tell them that Seto Kaiba had already made a sizeable donation to the hospital, to secure a private room for all four band members once each of them was well enough to be moved.

::::::::::::

As soon as Atem was wheeled into the room and saw Yugi, his heart lurched. His emotional state was fragile and he had no idea if they would ever be able to move on from what he had done.

Seeing Yugi, sleeping and looking so pale, sliced through him like a Samurai sword. It was his fault that his brother was hurt and he hated himself for it.

The porter placed his bed next to Yugi's, and Atem reached out with his uninjured hand and took Yugi's hand in his. It felt limp and lifeless. "Yugi... what have I done to you?" He called sadly. "How can you ever forgive me?" He had no idea if Yugi knew about Anzu's condition, or that Jonouchi was still in a coma.

Although his eyes were closed, Yugi was not asleep, and he turned to face Atem, staring at him blankly as if they were strangers. "Do I know you?"

"I'm Atem. Your brother," he implored.

Yugi looked down at their hands. "Why are you holding my hand?" He looked up at Atem again and frowned as he tried to work out if this person really was who he claimed to be.

"We were in a car accident Yugi, don't you remember?"

Yugi scowled. "I don't know.. I don't remember you." He pulled his hand away and clenched it tightly against his chest, as if protecting himself.

"But you have to! I'm your brother!" Atem called out, desperately trying to contain his tears, but failing.

"Why are you crying? Are you sad?" Said Yugi, rather dismissively.

Atem nodded sadly. "I'm very sad Yugi. It's my fault. I crashed the car and you got hurt."

Yugi flinched as a fragment of memory came back to him. But he was not sure what it meant. "Whatever. Don't cry, it's pissing me off." He rolled onto his side so that he was facing away from Atem.

His behaviour left Atem stunned and feeling even more desolate. Yugi was always a ray of light, but now he was surly and abrupt. Atem had thought that seeing Yugi would make things better, but in some respects it was making it worse.

"It's okay Atem, he's not himself." Sugoroku and Hana came into the room. "His brain is still recovering from the severe concussion. I'm sorry if it has upset you. We hoped that seeing you would help."

"He will make a full recovery though, won't he, Grandpa?!" Atem asked sadly.

"We hope so sweetheart. The doctors say he is doing as well as could be expected, but it may be a few more days before they will know for definite what the future will be." Hana sat down on the side of Atem's bed and stroked his head. She took a tissue and lovingly dabbed his tears away.

"Mum..." Atem's bottom lip trembled. "I don't know how I can ever get over what I've done." His face scrunched up as the horror and pain of the crash raced through his mind once more.

* * *

**Please review.**


	10. On The Edge

For those of you who celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a wonderful day yesterday. For those of you who don't, I hope you had a wonderful day too.

We have reached the penultimate chapter for this story now and are now about to find out Jonouchi's fate. I should warn that someone suffers a panic attack due to PTSD, and there are also mentions of the possible long term outcomes of injury etc, which some people could find distressing. I hope that doesn't put anyone off though, because it is not all depressing and I may even give you all a happy ending.

* * *

Chapter 10.

On The Edge.

Over the next couple of days, Yugi's concussion began to subside and his memories were returning.

But although he was making great progress, he was still in a lot of discomfort from his fractured ribs and the bruising to his chest wall. And, even with some prompting, he could remember nothing about the crash.

However, the chest drain had been removed and he was healing remarkably well. The doctors were saying he was a fast healer and there was even talk of letting him go home.

Yugi's good recovery seemed to be helping Atem, who was also feeling a little less despondent. His physical pain had eased too and he was able to stop taking painkillers, which he realised had been contributing to his depression.

Although it was usually against hospital policy, Anzu was transferred to their room, which seemed to cheer everyone up. Especially Anzu, who was confined to bed and had to wear a back brace to stabilise her spine while it healed.

She hated having to stay still in bed and had been fairly miserable. However, she was feeling slightly more positive now that the sensation had started returning to her legs.

The therapist came to give her some exercises to do, but she still had little to no control over her leg muscles and her legs were weak and heavy. No one could tell her for definite if she would be able to walk normally again, let alone have enough control over them to dance. All she could do was wait and hope.

Even if her mood tended to fluctuate between wildly optimistic and very despondent, the word 'hope' fuelled her determination.

::::::::::::

After their physiotherapy sessions were over for the day, they were allowed to go and visit Jonouchi in intensive care. Confined to her bed, Anzu was unable to accompany Yugi and Atem.

She was a bit down about it, but was happy that Yugi and Atem were able to go. "Say hi for me, won't you? And tell him to wake up soon!"

"You bet we will," Yugi replied, kissing her. "I love you," he reminded her for the umpteenth time. If only she would believe him when he said he would never leave her.

She smiled weakly at him. "I love you too Yugi." She felt her mood sinking again and bit her lip to stop herself crying and complaining. She knew why he constantly felt the need to reassure her. The other night, when the doctor told her he could not make any promises about her being able to dance again, she had experienced a meltdown. She had cried on Yugi and told him that he would get fed up of being saddled with a cripple, and would leave her. She wanted to believe him when he said that would never happen, but how could he know that when he had no idea what being stuck with someone in a wheelchair would be like?

Fuck it! She had no idea what life in a wheelchair would be like either! The doctors had not said anything to her and she had not asked them about it, but what if she couldn't have children because of her paralysis?

He said he didn't care as long as he was with her. But Anzu wanted children one day and she knew Yugi did too.

She realised that if she only made a reasonable recovery, her injuries would still be life changing.

::::::::::::

Walking along the corridor, getting into the elevator, then finding their way to Jonouchi's room, was still a bit much for Yugi and Atem to attempt on their own. Atem still needed a wheelchair, and although Yugi was able to walk, pushing Atem in a wheelchair was more than he could manage at the moment

Luckily, Honda, Ryo and Marik had come to visit and were able to lend a hand with getting Atem's wheelchair into the elevator.

As they waited for the elevator to arrive, Atem started to feel anxious. The last time he had seen Jonouchi had been during his drug induced hallucination; when he had seen him hovering over him while he was being extricated from the wreckage, and carried to the ambulance.

In the vision, Jonouchi had not a scratch on him. But Atem knew that was not the case from the moments after the car overturned and ended up in that ditch. Jonouchi had taken the brunt of it and was pretty beaten up. He was worried about what they might find when they entered that room. And it was his fault.

As Honda pushed his chair into the elevator and the doors slid shut, he let out a shaky breath. The confined space reminded him of being trapped in the car and he could feel himself starting to panic.

He gripped the arm rest with his healthy hand, and found himself envying Yugi for not remembering being stuck in the wreckage.

Honda reached down and patted his shoulder. "Hey! You okay buddy?"

Atem shook his head. No, he was not alright.

"Yes! I'm fine." His head shake contradicted his answer. He sucked on his bottom lip to stop it trembling. The last thing he wanted was to have a panic attack in the elevator, in front of his friends. Everything began to close in on him and the brightly lit elevator suddenly became dark. He felt like he was being sucked into a long, dark tunnel and his friends were pinpricks against the dot of light at the other end.

He was brought back suddenly, by Yugi peering into his face and gently shaking his shoulder. "Atem? Hey! Atem. Breathe. We've arrived."

Someone gently touched his face and he realised it was Ryo, who's worried face had appeared beside Yugi's.

Atem's eyes darted between the pair of them as he realised that the elevator doors were open and that Marik was holding the doors open. People were waiting politely for them to get out and were confused as to why the small group were not moving.

Now that they had Atem back in reality, Honda pushed the wheelchair out of the elevator and apologised to the waiting people.

As they entered the ICU ward, the noise of respirators and heart monitors dominated, and Atem started to feel uneasy again. "I don't think I can do this," he mumbled.

"Why not?" Yugi asked. "I thought you wanted to see Jonouchi?"

"I do. But..." Atem lowered his solemn gaze. He could not tell them about the vision he had seen of Jonouchi at the roadside. "What if he never wakes up Yugi? Or is never the same when he does? It's all my fault," Atem said in a desperately broken voice.

"It's not your fault Atem," Yugi reassured, kneeling in front of his brother. "Just because you were driving, doesn't make you responsible. It could have been any of us driving."

"But it wasn't, was it? It was me driving and therefore I'm the one responsible." His head hung sadly.

"Anzu and I don't blame you. Isn't that enough to reassure you?"

"But what if she is paralysed and has to spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair, unable to dance? What if Jonouchi never wakes up? Will you still be so forgiving then?"

"Yes," Yugi stated emphatically. "You will still be forgiven. Now, let's go see Jonouchi."

Honda had been spending time at his best friend's bedside and knew which one was his room, so he lead the way.

The nurse in charge greeted them and confirmed that they could all go in, but that they must not make much noise as there was a very sick patient in the room opposite, who was not expected to make it and her family were gathered at the bedside to say goodbye.

They nodded respectfully and went into Jonouchi's small side room and closed the door.

Jonouchi was surrounded by monitors and was attached to numerous tubes and lines. There was a nasty cut to the top of his left temple that had been stitched. He had bruising around his left eye and on his cheek, and a small graze on his chin. But other than that he looked peaceful and serene. His chest gently rose and fell as the breathing apparatus worked for him, and both Yugi and Atem felt a little unnerved by the machines that were keeping him alive.

The pair gawked, unsure what to say or do.

Honda had grown used to the machines and walked straight over to Jonouchi, squeezing his friend's shoulder. "Hey Dude! I've brought some buddies to see ya." He gestured for them to come to the bedside. "He won't bite." There was a hint of teasing tinged with sadness in his voice.

Atem held back, but swallowing his sadness and despair, Yugi approached the bed. "H.. hi Jonouchi," he mumbled, unsure what to say above the sound of the machines that were keeping his friend alive.

Jonouchi's dedicated nurse slipped into the room and came up beside them. "You should talk to him. He may or may not be able to hear you. Even if they can't hear your words, coma patients often still respond to touch and reassurance from their friends and family."

"Has anyone called his family?" Atem asked.

"We have tried to contact his father but I'm afraid he showed little interest. The police traced his mother but there was no answer at the address they have for her."

"What about his sister?" Honda enquired, curious as to why no one had asked if there were any other family.

"We didn't know he had other family!" The nurse looked surprised. "Do you know where she can be contacted?"

Honda frowned. "She's at a boarding school for the blind and partially sighted, but I don't know the name of it. She's due to have complex surgery to save her sight very soon. Jonouchi is paying for her to see a top specialist."

"Oh! Do any of you have a number where we can reach her? Or maybe one of you would like to call her."

Unfortunately, none of them knew the name of the school or how to contact her.

"Doesn't Anzu keep in touch with Shizuka?" Atem wondered. He was pretty sure she did. "And Mai does too, I think."

Yugi frowned and balled his fist against his forehead in frustration, as his still sluggish memory tried to process the question and find the answer. "She might. I can't remember. But probably."

"You've got your phone with you, why not ring Anzu now, and ask her to call Shizuka," Atem suggested.

"Oh! Yeah... I'll do that." Yugi pulled his phone out of his dressing gown pocket.

Anzu gasped at the realisation that no one had thought to tell Shizuka about her brother. She had been so caught up in her own situation and just kind of assumed, that like the Muto family and her own family, Jonouchi''s family members had been informed. But then, his father was most likely did not car, and Jonouchi was not on good terms with his mother. But, Shizuka! He adored his little sister.

It turned out that Jonouchi's mother was on holiday in Europe with her new boyfriend. She said she would fly home immediately, but her new boyfriend was not being very cooperative about it. So much for the new boyfriend! He could consider himself ditched.

After some investigation by Ryo and Marik, it was discovered that after he had been informed of his son's condition, Jonouchi's father had fallen into a depressive state and relapsed, after having been dry for a month, and gone on a drinking binge. He was himself now in the hospital after being found unconscious in an alleyway suffering from hypothermia and alcoholic poisoning.

Once sobered up and well enough, he did manage to make it to his son's bedside and was full of guilt and remorse for his actions. He held his son's limp hand and promised to go back into rehab, and never drink again, if Jonouchi would promise to wake up!

Meanwhile, Shizuka was at a boarding school for the blind and partially sighted, and had absolutely no idea of her brother's condition. When Anzu rang her to explain what had happened, she was distraught.

Since no one was able to bring Shizuka to the hospital, Honda offered to make the one hundred mile round trip, to collect her and bring her here. Little did he know that in doing so he would be meeting his future bride.

* * *

**Among all the misery, there is always hope.**

**Please review.**


	11. Life Support

Finally, we reach the finale. Not sure what I will publish as my next story. I have a couple of ideas, but not started putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) yet. I am toying with the idea of a one-shot, featuring Seto Kaiba, somewhere between the end of DM and the beginning of DSOD, but not sure exactly how it will go just yet so we'll have to wait and see.

Anyway, enough prattle, on with the last chapter - enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 11.

Life Support.

When he saw Shizuka shuffling into Jonouchi's ICU room, feeling her way with a white stick, and also being guided by an overly attentive Honda, Mister Jonouchi Senior gasped. His little girl had been seven when he last saw her. In his memory she had been a bundle of joy, skipping around full of energy. At least, she was before his drunken rages broke the family apart.

The young woman walking into the room reminded him so much of his ex-wife at a similar age, that it made him shudder. And, feeling full of remorse and guilt, he pushed himself off the chair he was sitting on and took a step towards his daughter, one hand reaching out for her.

Shizuka paused just inside the doorway. She could see the silhouette of a man coming towards her, but with her poor eyesight could not clearly make out his features. However, she knew he was her father. "Dad?" She whimpered, still afraid of his temper after all these years.

"Y...yeah.. It's me, your dad." he said, voice rough and gravelly from years of too many cigarettes, and too much booze. She looked like she wanted to back away and he wondered how much of that torrid time, when his marriage to her mother had broken down, she remembered. Did she still remember how he used to shout and yell at his wife and children? He could not deny the drunken rages and arguments about where he had been all night, or where all the money was going.

The last straw had been when his wife found out about the affair and had slapped him hard across the face. He was so drunk, that during the argument that followed, he had punched her. The kids had been terrified and hidden behind the sofa.

That fight had resulted in his wife taking Shizuka and going as far away from him as possible, and subsequently filing for divorce. "It's okay my little girl. I'm sober now. I won't shout at you. Not any more." His promise did sound genuine.

Hesitating, she pulled her arm free from Honda's grasp, and bravely walked into the room using her stick to ensure she did not trip on anything.

It broke Mister Jonouchi Senior's heart to see the tears in her pretty, honey coloured, but fading eyes.

"I came to see Katsuya," shizuka sniffed, looking at the blurry, lifeless form on the bed. With her heightened sense of hearing and smell, she could pick out the sound each individual machine attached to her brother made, and she could smell a mixture of hospital disinfectant, along with stale cigarettes from her father. But at least she could not smell booze on him.

Her father gently took her arm and felt crestfallen when she flinched away from him. "It's okay," he implored, and to his relief she let him steer her to the chair next to Jonouchi's bed.

She smiled up at him and said "thank you," before taking her brother's hand and leaning forward to rest her forehead against the side of Katsuya's face. Small sobs escaped her and her tears dripped onto his cheek.

"Katsuya." she whispered. "No one told me you were here. If I'd known I would have come sooner." She continued to sob quietly, and it was Honda who knelt beside her to give comfort. She suddenly found herself wanting to get to know this tall, knight in shining armour who had picked her up from the school and brought her to see her brother.

Gently rubbing circles of comfort on Shizuka's back, Honda looked down at his still sleeping best friend. He wished that her presence here, and the tears she was crying on him, might be the wake-up call the idiot needed! But no, there were no signs of any response at all, and he sadly wondered, if Shizuka could not wake him would anyone be able to?

"Come on man?" He sniffed, feeling his own tears welling up. "Shizuka came all this way for you and all you do is ignore her! You gotta at least try and make some sort of response." But his plea went unanswered and Jonouchi continued to sleep.

The bedside vigil continued for several more days. And the days turned into two more weeks. In which time, Kaiba arranged for Shizuka to have her scheduled eye surgery at Domino Hospital, instead of at the hospital she had originally been booked into.

For the sake of their two children, an awkward peace treaty was formed between Mister Jonouchi senior and his ex-wife. They would never exactly be friends, but they talked a little and hesitantly, some of the bitterness and hurt from old grievances was forgiven.

::::::::::::

With Yugi, Atem and Anzu now out of the hospital, a press conference was called to put an end to speculation that the band was finished.

Fans cried with a mixture of relief and heartbreak. Relief being for the band members who were recovering well, and heartbreak for Jonouchi still in a coma in hospital.

It was an anxious time, with Jonouchi's family and best friends, continuing to take it in turns to keep up the bedside vigil through day and night.

Not knowing if he could hear or understand them, they would talk to him about the fun times they had all enjoyed together. They talked about their own recoveries. They read him fan messages of love and support. They told him about some of the stupid things the press had been saying and they reminded him how much he meant to each and every one of them.

It had now been eight weeks since the accident, but they refused to give up hope.

The doctors reviewed his condition daily and were saying that it was time to try withdrawing life support. Today, they were going to turn off the ventilator in the hope that he would breathe for himself. Apparently, the signs were good enough that he might.

Receiving the news from Shizuka, everyone rushed to the hospital.

But when they arrived to discover that only immediate family were allowed in the room when the machines were turned off, they were disappointed.

"I'm sure Shizuka will give him a message for us," Anzu suggested.

Being respectful of hospital rules, and despite Shizuka protesting that they should be allowed to stay because they were her brother's best friends, they agreed they should wait outside. The room was already cramped enough as it was!

"Will you tell Jonouchi that..." Atem started to ask. But as he was speaking, Jonouchi's mother appeared and thanked them for being such good friends with their son.

"If you're quick, you can give him your message personally, before the doctor comes back," she said, looking around to ensure the staff were otherwise occupied.

Nodding, Atem and Yugi made their way inside the room and gazed down at their friend, shoulders touching for comfort.

Honda followed them into the room and stood just behind them.

Yugi was the first to manage to speak. "Hey! Jonouchi. They're going to take you off the ventilator today," he moved forward and took Jonouchi's hand, giving it a squeeze. "You have to remember to breathe, okay.?"

"And just remember there's people that love you dude. So don't you let us down. Got that?" Honda added, leaning over Yugi.

Atem stood quietly for a moment, before reaching down to pat Jonouchi's shoulder. "I know you can win whatever battle it is you're fighting. We will be right outside, willing you on."

With the aid of a stick, Anzu was walking now. The feeling had fully returned, but her muscles were still weak and she still could not walk very far. The doctors told her that although her progress was incredible, she should not get too over-optimistic, because there may always be a slight weakness down her left side. Anzu was out to prove them wrong and was determined to dance professionally again.

She followed the boys into the room but hung back and was standing with Shizuka; both girls were watching the guys giving encouragement to their stricken friend. It moved them both, especially Shizuka, who was warmed by the powerful bond her older friends shared.

The dressings that had been placed on her eyes while the recovered from the laser surgery had been off for three days now, and she could not help but let out a little sniff as tears came to her now crystal clear eyes. Gazing at her sympathetically, Anzu put an arm around her shoulders and hugged her close. "Jonouchi is a fighter. I know he won't give up."

The younger girl turned and wrapped her arms around the older woman, whom she was starting to look up to as a big sister. She was so grateful for the kindness her brother's friends were showing her and could not stop saying 'thank you.'

"It's what friends do," Anzu chuckled. She made a mental note, that after Jonouchi woke up, she would tell Shizuka the story about the time she drew a smiley face on their hands with her magic marker.

The doctor and his team arrived. Anzu released Shizuka and moved forward to tap Yugi on the shoulder to let him know. "Come on guys. We should leave now."

Yugi took one last look at his best friend, before he and Anzu followed Honda out into the main area where the nurses station was located.

Atem lingered a moment longer before joining them, and together they made their way to a small waiting area located in front of the elevators.

Just as they sat down, the elevator doors pinged open, and Seto, Ryou and Marik stepped out.

"Have they done it yet?" Seto asked, getting straight to the point.

"They're just about to. It's only immediate family so we were asked to wait here," Yugi told him.

Seto huffed. "You all have a right to be there. I will speak to someone." He was about to go and demand they all be allowed in the room, but Anzu called out to him.

"Seto?! Please, don't cause any trouble. It's only right we should wait here. And anyway, the room isn't big enough for all of us."

Seto shrugged. "If that's what you wish." He leaned against the wall and chewed his lip nervously. He would be the first to admit that Jonouchi was not his favourite person, but he was still willing the mutt to pull through.

Heads tilted in the direction of the room. The door had been closed for some time now. None of them knew what was happening in there and it was stressful for everyone.

But it was particularly stressful for Atem. With his family's love, and an excellent counsellor –who came highly recommended by both Kaiba brothers– he had spent the last few weeks coming to terms with what had happened and was doing well. He had even been to the police pound, where the wreckage of his car had been taken for forensic investigation should the police decide to press charges for reckless driving - which thankfully they had not.

Yugi and Anzu had plucked up the courage to go with him, and had been astonished that any of them had got out of that alive!

But they had, and they were moving forward, because, as the saying goes: life must go on.

However, Jonouchi's life still hung in the balance, and Atem wondered if his tenuous hold on his sanity might snap completely if his friend never woke up, or just slipped away when the machines were turned off.

If Jonouchi died, then part of him would die too.

::::::::::::

A senior nurse slipped quietly out of the room and came towards them. They all stood to attention, nervously wondering what she was going to say to them.

A hint of a smile appeared on her face when she approached. "Mister Jonouchi has been taken off life support and the signs are good."

Yugi's heart was hammering in his chest and his throat constricted when he tried to speak. He felt choked with... he wasn't sure what, but it was not grief. It was more like a feeling of being overjoyed. He worried that it might be premature, because she had not even said Jonouchi was awake.

Beside him, he felt Atem grip his arm and could sense his brother's emotions were in similar turmoil. On his other side, he felt Anzu's hand squeeze around his own.

The only person to find a voice was Seto. "Is he awake?" He demanded, almost impatiently.

"He is not awake yet," the nurse replied. "But he is breathing on his own and his heart-rate and blood pressure are very good. It's still early days, but we are very hopeful that he will wake when he is ready."

"Can we see him yet?" Anzu asked. The nurse replied that they could, and if Anzu had the strength in her legs, she would be pirouetting along the corridor right now.

They were not sure what to expect when they entered Jonouchi's room, and were slightly surprised to see that there were still machines attached to him. There was a drip was still giving him vital fluids and the feeding tube going in through his nose was still in place, along with a heart monitor.

Why wasn't he waking up? they all wondered.

"Can you tell us how soon it will be before he wakes up?" Atem asked, verbalising everyone's thoughts.

"It's difficult to say. We were hopeful he might wake up quite quickly," the doctor explained. "We will keep an eye on him, and hopefully we shall see some positive signs in the next few hours, or possibly days."

Yugi thought the doctor actually sounded slightly worried, despite his positive words. "But he will wake up, won't he?" He asked, anxiously.

The doctor looked uncertain. "Most patients do wake up. We should remain positive and keep talking too him and encouraging him. With luck he will respond." It was obvious that he did not know and Atem felt a mixture of concern and annoyance.

However, he held himself stoic and thanked the doctor for everything he was doing for their friend.

The doctor smiled at them all. "Anyway. Please stay positive. He is a strong young man and is definitely a fighter. So I am very hopeful for his future."

::::::::::::

It was another two days before Jonouchi opened his eyes. He had been having this really amazing dream, in which his parents never split up. In the dream, his dad had never had an affair, had never started gambling and drinking and they stayed living in their lovely house in a well to do suburb of Domino. Eat that Kaiba!

Shizuka was at his bed side and heard him chuckle in his sleep. She had no idea that he was laughing because at one time he had been richer than orphan boy Kaiba.

"Mum!" She gasped. "Katsuya just laughed...!" She turned back to her brother and grabbed his hand. "Katsuya... Katsuya! Can you hear me? It's me -Shizuka."

He blinked up at her fuzzy outline. The bright lights in the room hurt after being asleep, dreaming for so long. He tried to open his mouth to speak, but his mouth felt so dry and full of paste that no words would form. All that came out was a little whine.

Now at his side, his mother stroked his face. "It's okay Katsuya," she said gently. "Don't try to talk yet. You've been asleep for a while."

He felt something in his nose and was sure it was obstructing his throat and stopping him from talking. He reached up to paw at it and tried to pull it out. There was something going into the back of his hand as well, that should not be there either.

Luckily the nurse was now on hand to help stop him pulling out his feeding tube and IV line.

He did not like it. People were restraining him and he had to fight them off.

Shizuka was frightened and wrapped her arms around him. "Katsuya! Stop! You're hurting yourself." Comforted by his sisters embrace, he immediately started to calm down. Her warmth enveloped him and it felt like old times.

He thought he was a child again. He must have been in a serious fight with some bad-ass kid and got a bit cut up. But she was looking after him, just as he would always look after her. He started to weep.

Shizuka could feel her brothers tears against her face. "Don't cry. You're going to be alright. We will all be alright. I had my surgery while you were sleeping and I can see you perfectly now!" She said excitedly, closing her now clear honey brown eyes tightly and letting her tears fall.

::::::::::::

As soon as the news that Jonouchi was awake reached them, his friends rushed to the hospital.

They found him sitting up in bed shovelling down a big bowl of beef noodles as though his life depended upon it.

He looked up at them with his mouth full. Sauce dripped down his chin and a noodle was poking out of the corner of his mouth. It made them all laugh.

"What?!" He spluttered.

Laughing, Yugi pointed at the beef bowl in his friend's hand. "You, Jonouchi... It's awesome to see you haven't changed at all!" The doctors talked about him having cognitive issues and he had been worried his friend would be different.

"Yup! You're every bit as greedy as you always were, Jonouchi!" Honda smirked.

Wiping his hand across his chin, Jonouchi licked the sauce off. "Whaddaya mean by that dude?" Luckily, he had swallowed most of his food, so didn't spray it everywhere.

"I think he means your eating habits are still just as gross," Anzu rolled her eyes, but still found herself smiling with happiness at seeing Jonouchi sitting up and looking reasonably well. He had lost a lot of weight, was very pale and his hair was a mess, but other than that, he was... himself.

"Hey! I haven't eaten in weeks! I gotta ton of catching up to do," he stated innocently, making everyone laugh.

They stopped laughing when Atem approached the bed looking serious. "Jonouchi... I'm.. I don't know what to say," he cleared his throat, his words drying up.

Jonouchi studied him. He was confused as to why his usually confident friend looked so sheepish. "What's wrong Tem?"

Atem collected his nerves and found his voice. "I'm sorry. If it wasn't for me you would never have been in the situation you have been in. I take full responsibility."

"For what? Everyone keeps telling me we was in some car crash, but I don't remember a fucking thing! So, stop apologising." It came out a little blunter than he intended and Atem was a little taken aback.

"But I can't forget what I did," Atem responded. "I crashed my car and hurt everyone. I thought you were..." He swallowed. "When they lifted me from the wreckage, I saw you. You were watching over me but you were..." Sniffing, he wiped his hand across his face and Anzu instinctively stepped forward and handed him a tissue.

"Atem," she said, gently touching between his shoulders. "Please stop blaming yourself." He had been doing so well, but still insisted on taking full responsibility for the accident on his own shoulders.

Jonouchi became concerned. The crash had been explained to him, but all he found in the timeline of those events was a big black hole in his memory. He could remember the party and he could remember having some fucking weird dreams, but there was no accident.

Suddenly, a loud voice was heard as a busty blonde woman came barging in. "Oh. My. God! It's true. You really are awake!" Her euphoria at seeing him sitting up in bed, wide awake, outweighed the anger she felt at everyone for not telling her he had woken up. She had only found out he had woken up this morning when she had turned on her radio and heard it on the news!

"Yeah, I am. And if you've come here to give me a nagging lecture, I don't wanna hear it. Okay?"

Mai's face fell at the lack of a warm welcome from her on-off lover. Was he her boyfriend? Ex-boyfriend? She was not too sure where she stood. When she last came to visit, she had not been made all that welcome by Jonouchi's mother, who thought she was either an obsessed fan or a groupie. Luckily, Jonouchi's mother was not here at the moment, and Mai was determined to make him her man.

"How dare you run out on me and nearly die! You selfish moron..." She burst into tears and ran over to hug him. "Why does it take someone nearly dying to make you realise how much you love them?"

Jonouchi laughed awkwardly. "I, er... dunno. I always thought you hated me Mai. You're always telling me I'm a stupid, selfish pig!"

She released him and looked him in the eyes. "Geez, you really are dumb sometimes Katsuya. And anyway, when did you ever say nice, loving things to me?" She pouted indignantly.

Behind them, their friends all decided to back away slightly and let them sort out whatever disagreement the were, or were not having.

"I say nice things to ya when you want sex with me!" Jonouchi grinned boyishly and she rolled her eyes at him.

"If you weren't in a hospital bed I would slap you for that comment."

He winked at her. "A bit of slap and tickle eh? How can a guy resist?"

"That's it. I'm done with your childishness." She got up and turned away from him feeling hurt. "If you can't take me seriously, we're finished for good." Wiping a tear, she made like she was about to leave.

"Oi, Mai?! Don't go," he called out.

She stopped mid step. He sounded desperate, pleading almost. She smiled but kept facing away from him.

"Look at me, will ya?" He waited until she turned around and then continued. "I'm all weak and skinny. I gotta learn to walk properly again and stuff. Who's gonna help me with that if you're not around?"

She was slightly dumbfounded but managed to splutter out. "What exactly are you trying to ask me?" Why could he not just ask her to be his girlfriend, instead of some woman he took for granted?

"Are you always this thick Mai?" He looked at his friends peering in through the door. Yugi gave him a thumbs up and nodded, mouthing. "Ask her properly."

Peering over Yugi's shoulder, Honda rolled his eyes and mouthed at Jonouchi to stop being a jerk and ask nicely.

Jonouchi scowled at his friends but took the hint. "What I'm trying to say is... Shit, I'm frightened to ask you in case you bite my head off." There was a moment of anticipation, before he blurted. "Mai. Will you marry me?" No one was expecting that and a series of surprised gasps were heard.

Mai also gasped. She had not expected it either! Move in with me, perhaps. Or, let's date properly and see where it leads us. But a marriage proposal! "Are you being serious?"

He scowled at her. "Course I am! I wouldn't ask if I didn't mean it."

Mai tapped her chin with her index finger. "Well, I'm not sure. I need to think about it first." She was going to milk this for all it was worth.

Several long moments passed while she pretended to be deep in thought, and Jonouchi grew impatient. "Well, what are you waiting for woman?"

Mai shook her head and sat down on the bed. She took his hand in hers and looked into his eyes with a serious expression. "Jonouchi. You're a nice guy and all that, but..."

Jonouchi's heart began to sink. He should never have asked. She was gonna say no, he was certain.

"But..." Her solemn look turned into a huge smile. "Yes! Yes! Yes! I will marry you!"

Jonouchi whooped with delight, threw his arms around her and planted a huge, soggy, noddle tasting kiss on her lips.

After a few seconds she pulled away and spluttered, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand. "Ugh! What have you been eating?"

"Don't you like Beef Ramen?" He asked, perplexed.

Rolling her eyes, she laughed, pulling out a tissue from her pocket. "I do. Just not second hand."

After wiping her mouth and then his mouth with the tissue, she leaned forward and kissed him again.

Atem smiled at the sight. Maybe there were some good things to come out of that horrible crash after all.

The End.

* * *

**A BIG thank you for reading. ****I hope you have all enjoyed the ending. As you probably noticed, I'm not one for sad endings. The world can be a cruel enough place without reading stories that leave you feeling miserable at the end. So, even though I might put the characters through hell sometimes, I always give them either a happy ending or hope for a bright future.**


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